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INITIATION, HUMAN AND SOLAR 



Copyright 1922 

by 

Alice A. Bailey. 



• 



Initiation, Human and Solar 



°y 

ALICE A. BAILEY 



Author of 

"Letters on Occult Meditation" 
"The Consciousness of the Atom" 



First Edition 



Lucifer Publishing Co. 
135 Broadway, 
New York City. 



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^ 



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CI AG 8601 3 






Dedicated with 

reverence and gratitude 

to 

the Master K H. 



FOKEWOKD. 

The subject of Initiation is one that has a great fas- 
cination for thinkers of all schools of thought, and even 
those who remain sceptical and critical would like to be- 
lieve that this ultimate attainment were possible. To 
those who do not believe that such a goal is possible this 
book is offered for what it may be worth as a formulation 
of an interesting hypothesis. To those who anticipate 
such a consummation of all their endeavours, this book is 
tendered in the hope that it may prove an inspiration and 
a help. 

Among occidental thinkers at this time there is a wide 
diversity of view upon this momentous subject. There 
are those who think that it is not of sufficient immediate 
importance to engross their attention, and that if the aver- 
age man adheres to the path of duty and high-minded at- 
tention to the business in hand, he will duly arrive at his 
destination. This is undoubtedly true, yet as capacity for 
increased service, and the development of powers to be 
used in the helping of the race are the reward of the man 
who is willing to make the increased effort and to pay the 
price which initiation demands, perhaps this book may 
spur some on to attainment who might otherwise have 
drifted slowly towards their goal. They will then become 
givers, and not the recipients of help. 

There are those again who consider that the teaching 
given out in various books hitherto concerning initiation, 
is erroneous. Initiation has been made out to be fairly 
easy of attainment, and to call for no such rectitude of 



character as might have been anticipated. The following 
chapters may serve to show that the criticism is not un- 
merited. Initiation is profoundly difficult of attainment, 
and calls for a strenuous discipline of the entire lower 
nature, and a life of self-effacing and self-abnegating de- 
votion. At the same time, it must be remembered that the 
earlier teaching is right in essence, though belittled in in- 
terpretation. 

Again, there are some who are interested, yet who feel 
the possibilities involved are too far advanced for them, 
and that they need not occupy themselves with them at 
this stage of their evolution. This book seeks to make it 
apparent that here and now the average man may begin 
to build that character and to lay those foundations of 
knowledge which are necessary before even the Path of 
Discipleship can be trodden. Due preparation may now 
be made, and men and women everywhere may — if they 
choose — fit themselves for the condition of discipleship 
and tread the Probationary Path. 

Hundreds in the East and in the West are pressing 
onwards towards this goal, and in the unity of the one 
ideal, in their common aspiration and endeavour, they will 
meet before the one Portal. They will then recognize them- 
selves as brothers, severed by tongue and apparent divers- 
ity of belief, but fundamentally holding to the same one 
truth and serving the same God. 

Alice A. Bailey. 
New York, L922. 



The nature and significance of certain of the present 
and subsequent writings of Mrs. Bailey make needful a 
clear definition of the responsibility for their publication. 

It is the belief of the publishers that there are many 
readers of today and of times to come who, by contact with 
these books, will be led to perceive their inspiration and 
high authority, and to find therein a guide for their feet 
and an incentive for steadfast endeavor. 

Therefore, the undersigned have undertaken to pub- 
lish all of Mrs. Bailey's works, and in nearly every instance 
to make them available to the public without restriction. 
They jointly assume full responsibility for such publica- 
tion. 

Foster Bailey. 
Ernest S. Suffern. 

New York, 1922. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



Chapter I. 

Introductory Remarks. 

Dogmatism and the Intuition. 
Three basic facts to be recognised. 
Five points to remember. 

Chapter II. 

Initiation defined. 

Four words denned. 

Aspects of Initiation. 

Place and effect of Initiation. 

At-one-ment, the result of Initiation. 

Chapter III. 

The work of the Hierarchy. 

To develop self-consciousness in all beings. 
To develop consciousness in the three lower king- 
doms. 
To transmit the will of the Planetary Logos. 
To set an example to humanity. 

Chapter IV. 

The founding of the Hierarchy. 
Its appearance on the planet. 
The immediate effect. 
The opening of the Door of Initiation. 

Chapter V. 

The three departments of the Hierarchy. 
The work of the Manu. 
The work of the World Teacher, the Christ. 
The work of the Lord of Civilisation, the 
Mahachohan. 



Chapter VI. 

The Lodge of Masters. 

Their divisions. 

Certain Masters and Their work. 

The present work. 
Chapter VII. 

The Probationary Path. 

Preparation for Initiation. 

Methods of teaching. 

Masters and disciples. 
Chapter VIII. 
DiscipJeship. 

A disciple described. 

The work to be done. 

Gronp relationships. 
Chapter IX. 

The Path of Initiation. 

The first two Initiations. 

The succeeding two Initiations. 

The final Initiations. 
Chapter X. 

The Universality of Initiation. 

Initiation on the various planets. 

Initiation and the devas. 

Cosmic influences and solar Initiations. 
Chapter XL 

The Participants in the Mysteries. 

Planetary Existences. 

The Departmental Heads. 

The Lodge of Masters. 

The [nil iate. 
Chapter XII. 

The Tiro R< relations. 

The revelal ion of the ••Presence." 

The revelal ion of the Vision. 



Chapter XIII. 

The Rods of Initiation. 

The purpose of the Rods of Power. 
The effect of their application to : — 

1. The initiate's bodies. 

2. The egoic body. 

3. The centres. 
Chapter XIV. 

The Administration of the Oath. 

The work of the Lodge during Initiation. 

Two types of oaths. 

The Oath of Initiation. 
Chapter XV. 

The Giving of the Word. 

The Solar Words. 

The use of the Words. 
Chapter XVI. 

The imparting of the "Secrets". 

The seven-fold Secret. 

The three solar Mysteries. 

Their sequential revelation. 
Chapter XVII. 

The Diversities of Initiation. 

Major and Minor Initiations. 

The day of opportunity. 

Chapter XVIII. 

The Seven Paths. 

Three cosmic Paths. 
Four systemic Paths. 

Chapter XIX. 

Rules for Applicants. 

An Esoteric Catechism. 
Glossary. 





THE SEVEN PLANES OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM 




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THE CONSTITUTION OF MAN 





The constitution of man, as considered in the follow- 
ing pages, is basically 3-fold, as follows : — 

I. The Monad, or pure Spirit, the Father in Heaven. 

This aspect reflects the three aspects of the Godhead : 

1. Will or Power The Father. 

2. Love-wisdom The Son. 

3. Active Intelligence The Holy Spirit. 

and is only contacted at the final initiations, when 
man is nearing the end of his journey and is perfected. 
The Monad reflects itself again in 

II. The Ego, Higher Self, or Individuality. 
This aspect is potentially 

1. Spiritual Will Atma. 

2. Intuition Buddhi, 

Love-wisdom, the Christ principle. 

3. Higher or abstract Mind. . .Higher Manas. 
The Ego begins to make its power felt in advanced 
men, and increasingly on the Probationary Path un- 
til by the third initiation the control of the lower self 
by the higher is perfected, and the highest aspect be- 
gins to make its energy felt. 

The Ego reflects itself in 

III. The Personality, or lower self, physical plane man. 
This aspect is also three-fold: — 

1. A mental body lower manas. 

2. An emotional body astral body. 

3. A physical body the dense physical 

and the etheric body. 
The aim of evolution is therefore to bring man to the 
realisation of the Egoic aspect and to bring the lower na- 
ture under its control. 



THE LORD BUDDHA HAS SAID 

that we must not believe in a thing said merely because 
it is said; nor traditions because they have been handed 
down from antiquity; nor rumors, as such; nor writings 
by sages, because sages wrote them: nor fancies that we 
may suspect to have been inspired in us by a Deva (that 
is, in presumed spiritual inspiration) ; nor from inferences 
drawn from some haphazard assumption we may have 
made; nor because of what seems an analogical necessity; 
nor on the mere authority of our teachers or masters. But 
we are to believe when the writing, doctrine, or saying is 
corroborated by our own reason and consciousness. "For 
this," says he in concluding, "I taught you not to believe 
merely because you have heard, but when you believed of 
your consciousness, then to act accordingly and abundant- 

l.v.- 

(Secret Doctrine, Vol. Ill, page 401.) 



INITIATION, HUMAN AND SOLAR. 

CHAPTER I. 

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 



Before entering upon the subject matter of the fol- 
lowing articles on Initiation, on the Paths that open be- 
fore the perfected man, and on the Occult Hierarchy, cer- 
tain statements may be made which seem essential for the 
judicious study and comprehension of the ideas submitted. 

It is to be recognized that throughout this volume 
facts are alleged and definite statements made which are 
not susceptible of immediate proof by the reader. Lest 
it be inferred that the writer arrogates to herself any 
credit or personal authority for the knowledge implied she 
emphatically disavows all such claims or representations. 
She cannot do otherwise than present these statements as 
matters of fact. Nevertheless, she would urge those who 
find somewhat of merit in these pages that they be not 
estranged by any appearance of dogmatism in the presen- 
tation. Nor should the inadequacy of the personality of 
the writer act as a deterrent to the open-minded considera- 
tion of the message to which her name happens to be ap- 
pended. In spiritual issues, names, personalities, and the 
voice of external authority, hold small place. That alone is 



2 INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

a safe guide which holds its warranty from inner recogni- 
tion and inner direction. It is not, therefore, material 
whether the reader receive the message of these pages as 
a spiritual appeal in an idealistic setting, a presentation 
of alleged facts, or a theory evolved by one student and pre- 
sented for the consideration of fellow students. To each 
it is offered with whatever of inner response it may evoke, 
for whatever of inspiration and of light it may bring. 

In these days of the shattering of the old form and 
the building of the new, adaptability is needed. We must 
avert the danger of crystallisation through pliability and 
expansion. The "old order changeth", but primarily it is 
a change of dimension and of aspect, and not of material 
or of foundation. The fundamentals have always been 
true. To each generation is given the part of conserving 
the essential features of the old and beloved form, but al- 
so of wisely expanding and enriching it. Each cycle must 
add the gain of further research and scientific endeavor, 
and subtract that which is worn out and of no value. Each 
age must build in the product and triumphs of its period, 
and abstract the accretions of the past that would dim 
and blur the outline. Above all, to each generation is 
given the joy of demonstrating the strength of the old 
foundations, and the opportunity to build upon these 
foundations a structure that will meet the needs of the in- 
net- evolving life. 

The ideas thai are elaborated here find their corrob- 
oration in certain (acts that arc stated in the occult lit- 
erature now extant. These facts are three in number, and 
are as follows : — 

i a ) In the creation of the sun and the seven sacred 

planets composing our solar system, our Logos employed 

mat tec that was already impregnated with particular 
qualities. Mrs. liesant in her book, "Avataras", (which 



INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 3 

some of us think the most valuable of all her writings, be- 
cause one of the most suggestive), makes the statement 
that "our solar system is builded out of matter already ex- 
isting, out of matter already gifted with certain proper- 
ties . . . " (page 48). This matter, therefore, we deduce, 
held latent certain faculties that were forced to demon- 
strate in a peculiar way, under the law of Cause and Ef- 
fect, as does all else in the universe. 

(b) All manifestation is of a septenary nature, and 
the Central Light which we call Deity, the one Ray of Di- 
vinity, manifests first as a Triplicity, and then as a Sep- 
tenary. The One God shines forth as Cod the Father, Cod 
the Son, and Cod the Holy Spirit, and these three are 
again reflected through the Seven Spirits before the throne, 
or the seven Planetary Logoi. The students of occultism 
of non-Christian origin may call these Beings the One Ray, 
demonstrating through the three major Rays and the four 
minor, making a divine Septenary. The Synthetic Ray 
which blends them all is the great Love- Wisdom Ray, for 
verily and indeed "God is Love". This Ray is the indigo 
Ray, and is the blending Ray. It is the one which will, at 
the end of the greater cycle, absorb the others in the 
achievement of synthetic perfection. It is the manifesta- 
tion of the second aspect of Logoic life. It is this aspect, 
that of the Form-Builder, that makes this solar system of 
ours the most concrete of the three major systems. The 
Love or Wisdom aspect demonstrates through the build- 
ing of the form, for 'Cod is Love', and in that Cod of Love 
Ave 'live and move and have our being', and will to the end 
of aeonian manifestation. 

(c) The seven planes of Divine Manifestation, or 
the seven major planes of our system, are but the seven 
sub-planes of the lowest cosmic plane. The seven Rays of 



4 INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

which we hear so much, and which hold so much of in- 
terest and of mystery, are likewise but the seven sub-rays 
of one cosmic Ray. The twelve creative Hierarchies are 
themselves but subsidiary branches of one cosmic Hier- 
archy. They form but one chord in the cosmic symphony. 
When that seven-fold cosmic chord, of which we form so 
humble a part, reverberates in synthetic perfection, then, 
and only then, will come comprehension of the words in the 
Book of Job : "The morning stars sang together." Dis- 
sonance yet sounds forth, and discord arises from many 
systems, but in the progression of the aeons an ordered 
harmony will eventuate, and the day will dawn when (if 
we dare speak of eternities in the terms of time) the sound 
of the perfected universe will resound to the uttermost 
bounds of the furthest constellation. Then will be known 
the mystery of "the marriage song of the heavens." 

The reader is also asked to remember and weigh cer- 
tain ideas prior to taking up the study of Initiation. Due 
to the extreme complexity of the matter it is an utter im- 
possibility for us to do more than get a general idea of the 
scheme; hence the futility of dogmatism. We can do no 
more than sense a fraction of some wonderful whole, utter- 
ly beyond the reach of our consciousness, — a whole that the 
highest Angel or Perfected Being is but beginning to real- 
ise. When we recognise the fact that the average man is as 
yet fully conscious only on the physical plane, nearly con- 
scioufl on the emotional plane, and only developing the 
consciousness of the mental plane, it is obvious that his 
comprehension of cosmic data can be but rudimentary. 
When we recognise the further fact, thai to be conscious 
ou a plane and to hare control on that piano are two very 
different conditions, it becomes apparent how remote is 
the possibility of our approximating more than the gen- 
eral trend of the cosmic scheme. 



INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 5 

We must recognize also that danger lies in dogma and 
in the hide-bound facts of textbooks, and that safety lies 
in flexibility, and in a shifting angle of vision. A fact, for 
instance, looked at from the standpoint of humanity 
(using the word 'fact' in the scientific sense as that which 
has been demonstrated past all doubt and question) may 
not be a fact from the standpoint of a Master. To Him it 
may be but part of a greater fact, only a fraction of the 
whole. Since His vision is fourth and fifth dimensional, 
His realisation of the place of time in eternity must be 
more accurate than ours. He sees things from above 
downwards, and as one to whom time is not. 

An inexplicable principle of mutation exists in the 
Mind of the Logos, or the Deity of our solar system, and 
governs all His actions. We see but the ever changing 
forms, and catch glimpses of the steadily evolving life 
within those forms, but as yet have no clue to the principle 
which works through the shifting kaleidoscope of solar 
systems, rays, hierarchies, planets, planes, schemes, 
rounds, races, and sub-races. They interweave, interlock, 
and interpenetrate each other, and utter bewilderment is 
ours as the wonderful pattern they form unfolds before us. 
We know that somewhere in that scheme we, the human 
hierarchy, have our place. All therefore that we can do 
is to seize upon any data that seems to affect our own wel- 
fare, and concern our own evolution, and from the study 
of the human being in the three worlds seek to understand 
somewhat the macrocosm. We know not how the one can 
become the three, the three become the seven, and so pro- 
ceed to inconceivable differentiation. To human vision 
this interweaving of the system forms an unimaginable 
complexity, the key to which seems not to be forthcoming. 
Seen from the angle of a Master we know that all pro- 
ceeds in ordered sequence. Seen from the angle of divine 



6 INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

vision the whole will move in harmonious unison, pro- 
ducing a form geometrically accurate. Browning had hold 
of a part of this truth when he wrote : 

"All's change, but permanence as well" and 

continued : 

"Truth inside, and outside, truth also; and between 
each, falsehood that is change, as truth is perman- 
ence." 
"Truth successively takes shape, one grade above its 

last presentment " 

We must remember also that beyond a certain point 
it is not safe nor wise to carry the communication of the 
facts of the solar system. Much must remain esoteric and 
veiled. The risks of too much knowledge are far greater 
than the menace of too little. With knowledge comes re- 
sponsibility and power, — two things for which the race is 
not yet ready. Therefore all we can do is to study and 
correlate with what wisdom and discretion may be ours, 
using the knowledge that may come for the good of those 
we seek to help, and recognising that in the wise use of 
knowledge comes increased capacity to receive the hidden 
wisdom. Coupled also with the wise adaptation of know- 
ledge to the surrounding need must grow the capacity for 
discreet reservation, and The use of the discriminating 
faculty. When Ave can wisely use, discreetly withhold, and 
soundly discriminate, we give the surest guarantee to the 
watching Teachers of the race thai we are ready for a 
fresh revelation. 

We must resign ourselves to the fact (hat the only 
way in which we can find the (due to the mystery of the 
rays, systems, and hierarchies, lies in the study of the law 
of correspondences or analogy. K is the one thread by 
which we can find our way through the Labyrinth, and the 
one ray of light that shines through the darkness 



INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 7 

of the surrounding ignorance. H. P. Blavatsky, in the 
"Secret Doctrine", has told us so, but as yet very little 
has been done by students to avail themselves of that clue. 
In the study of this Law we need to remember that the cor- 
respondence lies in its essence, and not in the exoteric 
working out of detail as we think we see it from our pres- 
ent standpoint. The factor of time leads us astray for 
one thing; we err when we attempt to fix stated times 
or limits; all in evolution progresses through merging, 
with a constant process of overlapping and mingling. 
Only broad generalities and a recognition of fundamental 
points of analogy are possible to the average student. The 
moment he attempts to reduce to chart form and to tabu- 
late in detail, he enters realms where he is bound to err, 
and staggers through a fog that will ultimately overwhelm 
him. 

Nevertheless, in the scientific study of this law of 
analogy will come a gradual growth of knowledge, and 
in the slow accumulation of facts will gradually be built 
up an ever-expanding form, that will embody much of the 
truth. The student will then awake to the realisation that 
after all the study and toil he has at least a wide general 
conception of the Logoic thoughtform into which he can fit 
the details as he acquires them through many incarnations. 
This brings us to the last point to be considered before en- 
tering upon the subject proper, which is : 

That the development of the human being is but the 
passing from one state of consciousness to another. It is 
a succession of expansions, a growth of that faculty of 
awareness that constitutes the predominant characteristic 
of the indwelling Thinker. It is the progressing from con- 
sciousness polarised in the personality, lower self, or body, 
to that polarised in the higher self, ego, or soul, thence 
to a polarisation in the Monad, or Spirit, till the conscious- 



8 INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

ness eventually is Divine. As the human being develops, 
the faculty of awareness extends first of all beyond the 
circumscribing walls that confine it within the lower king- 
doms of nature (the mineral, vegetable and animal) to 
the three worlds of the evolving personality, to the planet 
whereon he plays his part, to the system wherein that 
planet revolves, until it finally escapes from the solar 
svstem itself and becomes universal. 



CHAPTER II. 
INITIATION DEFINED. 



The question anent initiation is one that is coming 
more and more before the public. Before many centuries 
pass the old mysteries will be restored, and an inner body 
will exist in the Church — the Church of the period, of 
which the nucleus is already forming — wherein the first 
initiation will become exoteric, in this sense only, that the 
taking of the first initiation will, before so very long, be 
the most sacred ceremony of the Church, performed 
exoterically as one of the mysteries given at stated periods, 
attended by those concerned. It will also hold a similar 
place in the ritual of the Masons. At this ceremony those 
ready for the first initiation will be publicly admitted to 
the Lodge by one of its members, authorized to do so by 
the great Hierophant Himself. 

Four tvords defined. 

When we speak of Initiation, of wisdom, of knowledge, 
or of the probationary Path, what do we mean? We use 
the words so glibly, without due consideration of the 
meaning involved. Take, for instance, the word first men- 
tioned. Many are the definitions, and many are the ex- 
planations to be found as to its scope, the preparatory 
steps, the work to be done between initiations, and its 
result and effects. One thing before all else is apparent to 
the most superficial student, and that is, that the magni- 
tude of the subject is such that in order to deal with it 
adequately one should be able to write from the viewpoint 
of an initiate; when this is not the case, anything that is 

9 



10 INITIATION DEFINED 

said may be reasonable, logical, interesting, or suggestive, 
but not conclusive. 

The word Initiation comes from two Latin words, in, 
into; and ire, to go; therefore, the making of a beginning, 
or the entrance into something. It posits, in its widest 
sense, in the case we are studying, an entrance into the 
spiritual life, or into a fresh stage in that life. It is the 
first step, and the succeeding steps, upon the Path of Holi- 
ness. Literally, therefore, a man who has taken the first 
initiation is one who has taken the first step into the 
spiritual kingdom, having passed out of the definitely 
human kingdom into the super-human. Just as he passed 
out of the animal kingdom into the human at individuali- 
sation, so he has entered upon the life of the spirit, and 
for the first time has the right to be called a "spiritual 
man" in the technical significance of the word. He is en- 
tering upon the fifth or final stage in our present fivefold 
evolution. Having groped his way through the Hall of 
Ignorance during many ages, and having gone to school 
in the Hall of Learning, he is iioav entering into the uni- 
versity, or the Hall of Wisdom. When he has passed 
through that school he will graduate with his degree as a 
Master of Compassion. 

It might be of benefit to us also if we studied first the 
difference or the connection between Knowledge, Under- 
standing, and Wisdom. Though in ordinary parlance they 
are frequently interchanged, as used technically they are 
dissimilar. 

Knowledge is the product of* the Rail of Learning. 
Ii might be termed the sum total of human discover} and 
experience, tliat which can be recognized by the five senses, 
and be correlated, diagnosed, and denned by tin 1 use of the 
human intellect. It is that about which we feel mental 
certitude, or that whicli we can ascertain by the use of 



INITIATION DEFINED 11 

experiment. It is the compendium of the arts and sciences. 
It concerns all that deals with the building and develop- 
ing of the form side of things. Therefore it concerns the 
material side of evolution, matter in the solar system, in 
the planet, in the three worlds of human evolution, and 
in the bodies of men. 

Wisdom is the product of the Hall of Wisdom. It has 
to do with the development of the life within the form, 
with the progress of the spirit through those ever-changing 
vehicles, and with the expansions of consciousness that 
succeed each other from life to life. It deals with the life 
side of evolution. Since it deals with the essence of things 
and not with the things themselves, it is the intuitive ap- 
prehension of truth apart from the reasoning faculty, and 
the innate perception that can distinguish between the false 
and the true, between the real and the unreal. It is more than 
that, for it is also the growing capacity of the Thinker to 
enter increasingly into the mind of the Logos, to realise 
the true inwardness of the great pageant of the universe, 
to vision the objective, and to harmonise more and more 
with the higher measure. For our present purpose (which 
is to study somewhat the Path of Holiness and its various 
stages ) it may be described as the realisation of the 'King- 
dom of God within', and the apprehension of the 'Kingdom 
of God without' in the solar system. Perhaps it might be 
expressed as the gradual blending of the paths of the 
mystic and the occultist, — the rearing of the temple of 
wisdom upon the foundation of knowledge. 

Wisdom is the science of the spirit, just as knowledge 
is the science of matter. Knowledge is separative and ob- 
jective, whilst wisdom is synthetic and subjective. Know- 
ledge divides; wisdom unites. Knowledge differentiates 
whilst wisdom blends. What, then, is meant by the under- 
standing? 



12 INITIATION DEFINED 

The understanding may be defined as the faculty of 
the Thinker in Time to appropriate knowledge as the 
foundation for wisdom, that which enables him to adapt 
the things of form to the life of the spirit, and to take the 
flashes of inspiration that come to him from the Hall of 
Wisdom and link them to the facts of the Hall of Learn- 
ing. Perhaps the whole idea might be expressed in this 
way: 

Wisdom concerns the one Self, knowledge deals with 
the not-self, whilst the understanding is the point of view 
of the Ego, or Thinker, or his relation between them. 

In the Hall of Ignorance the form controls, and the 
material side of things has the predominance. Man is 
there polarised in the personality or lower self. In the 
Hall of Learning the higher self, or Ego, strives to domin- 
ate that form until gradually a point of equilibrium is 
reached where the man is controlled entirely by neither. 
Later the Ego controls more and more, until in the Hall 
of Wisdom it dominates in the three lower worlds, and 
in increasing degree the inherent divinity assumes the 
mastery. 

Aspects of initiation. 

Initiation, or the process of undergoing an expansion 
of consciousness, is part of the normal process of evolution- 
al ry development, viewed on a large scale, and not from the 
standpoint of the individual. When viewed from the in- 
dividual standpoint it has come to be narrowed down to the 
moment wherein (lie evolving unit definitely apprehends 
that (by dint of bis own effort, aided by the advice and 
suggestions of the watching Teachers of the race) he has 
reached a point wherein a certain range of knowledge of 
a subjective nature, from the physical plane point of view, 



INITIATION DEFINED 13 

is his. It is in the nature of that experience wherein a 
pupil in a school realises suddenly that he has mastered 
a lesson, and that the rationale of a subject, and the 
method of procedure, are his to use intelligently. These 
moments of intelligent apprehension follow the evolving 
Monad throughout his long pilgrimage. What has been 
misinterpreted somewhat at this stage of comprehension 
is the fact that at various periods the emphasis is laid on 
different grades of expansion, and always the Hierarchy 
endeavours to bring the race to the point where its units 
will have some idea of the next step to be taken. 

Each initiation marks the passing of the pupil in the 
Hall of Wisdom into a higher class, marks the clearer 
shining forth of the inner fire and the transition from one 
point of polarisation to another, entails the realisation of 
an increasing unity with all that lives and the essential 
oneness of the self with all selves. It results in a horizon 
that continuously enlarges until it includes the sphere of 
creation; it is a growing capacity to see and hear on all 
the planes. It is an increased consciousness of God's plans 
for the world, and an increased ability to enter into those 
plans and to further them. It is the effort in the abstract 
mind to pass an examination. It is the honour class in 
the Master's school, and is within the attainment of those 
souls whose Karma permits and whose efforts suffice to 
fulfil the aim. 

Initiation leads to the mount whence vision can be 
had, a vision of the eternal Now, wherein past, present, and 
future exist as one; a vision of the pageant of the races 
with the golden thread of pedigree carried through the many 
types; a vision of the golden sphere that holds in unison 
all the many evolutions of our system, deva, human, 
animal, vegetable, mineral, and elemental, and through 
which the pulsating life can be clearly seen beating in 



14 INITIATION DEFINED 

regular rhythm; a vision of the Logoic thought-form on 
the archetypal plane, a vision that grows from initiation 
to initiation until it embraces all the solar system. 

Initiation leads to the stream that, once entered, 
sweeps a man onward until it carries him to the feet of 
the Lord of the World, to the feet of his Father in Heaven, 
to the feet of the three-fold Logos. 

Initiation leads to the cave within whose circumscrib- 
ing walls the pairs of opposites are known, and the secret 
of good and evil is revealed. It leads to the Cross and to 
that utter sacrifice which must transpire before perfect 
liberation is attained, and the initiate stands free of all 
earth's fetters, held by naught in the three worlds. It 
leads through the Hall of Wisdom, and puts into a man's 
hands the key to all information, systemic and cosmic, in 
graduated sequence. It reveals the hidden mystery that 
lies at the heart of the solar system. It leads from one 
state of consciousness to another. As each state is entered 
the horizon enlarges, the vista extends, and the compre- 
hension includes more and more, until the expansion 
reaches a point where the self embraces all selves, includ- 
ing all that is "moving and unmoving", as phrased by an 
ancient Scripture. 

Initiation involves ceremony. It is this aspect that 
has been emphasised in the minds of men, perhaps a little 
to the exclusion of the true significance. Primarily it in- 
volves the capacity to see, hear, and comprehend, and to 
svnt hesise and correlate knowledge. It does not necessari- 
ly involve the development of the psychic faculties, but it 
does entail the inner comprehension that sees the value 
underlying the form, and recognizes the purpose pervading 
circumstances. It is the capacity that senses the lesson 
to he learnt from any given occurrence and event, and 
that by means of these comprehensions and recognitions 



INITIATION DEFINED 15 

effects an hourly, weekly, yearly growth and expansion. 
This process of gradual expansion — the result of the 
definite effort and strenuous right thinking and living of 
the aspirant himself and not of some occult teacher per- 
forming an occult rite — leads to what one might term a 
crisis. 

At this crisis, which necessitates the aid of a Master, 
a definite act of initiation is performed, which (acting on 
a particular centre) produces a result on some one body. 
It keys the atoms to a certain pitch, and enables a new 
rate of rhythm to be attained. 

This ceremony of initiation marks a point of attain- 
ment. It does not bring about attainment, as is so often 
the misconception. It simply marks the recognition by the 
watching Teachers of the race of a definite point in evolu- 
tion reached by the pupil, and gives two things : — 

1. An expansion of consciousness that admits the 
personality into the wisdom attained by the Ego, and in 
the higher initiations into the consciousness of the Monad. 

2. A brief period of enlightenment wherein the 
initiate sees that portion of the Path that lies ahead to be 
trodden, and wherein he shares consciously in the great 
plan of evolution. 

After initiation, the work to be done consists largely 
in making that expansion of consciousness part of the 
equipment for the practical use of the personality, and in 
mastering that portion of the path that has yet to be 
traversed. 

The place and effect of initiation. 

The ceremony of initiation takes place on the three 
higher sub-planes of the mental plane, and on the three 
higher planes, according to the initiation. The five-pointed 
star, at the initiations on the mental plane, flashes out 



16 INITIATION DEFINED 

above the head of the initiate. This concerns the first 
initiations which are undergone in the causal vehicle. It 
has been said that the first two initiations take place upon 
the astral plane, but this is incorrect, and the statement 
has given rise to a misunderstanding. They are felt pro- 
foundly in connection with the astral and physical bodies 
and the lower mental, and affect their control. The chief 
effect being felt in those bodies the initiate may interpret 
them as having taken place on the planes concerned, as 
the vividness of the effect and the stimulation of the first 
two initiations works out largely in the astral body. But 
it must ever be remembered that the major initiations are 
taken in the causal body or — dissociated from that body — 
on the buddhic plane or atmic plane. At the final two 
initiations which set a man free from the three worlds, and 
enable him to function in the body of vitality of the Logos 
and wield that force, the initiate becomes the five-pointed 
star and it descends upon him, merges in him, and he is 
seen at its very centre. This descent is brought about by 
the action of the Initiator, wielding the Rod of Power, 
and puts a man in touch with the centre in the Body of 
the Planetary Logos of which he is a part, and this con- 
sciously. The two initiations called the sixth and 
seventh take place on the buddhic and atmic planes; the 
five-pointed star ''blazes forth from within Itself, as the 
esoteric phrase has it, and becomes the seven-pointed star: 
it descends upon the man and he enters within the flame. 
Again, the four initiations, prior to that of the adept, 
mark respectively the attainment of certain proportions 
of atomic matter in the bodies. For instances at the first 
initiation one-fourth atomic matter, at the second one- 
half atomic matter, at the third three-quarters atomic mat- 
ter, and so on to the completion. Since buddhi is the unify- 
ing principle (or the welder of all), at the fifth initiation 



INITIATION DEFINED 17 

the adept lets the lower vehicles go, and stands in his bud- 
dhic sheath. He creates thence his body of manifestation. 

Each initiation gives more control on the rays, if one 
may so express it, although this does not adequately con- 
vey the idea. Words so often mislead. At the fifth 
initiation, when the adept stands Master in the three 
worlds, He controls more or less (according to His line of 
development) the five rays that are specially manifesting 
at the time He takes that initiation. At the sixth in- 
itiation, if He takes the higher degree, He gains power 
on another ray, and at the seventh initiation He wields 
power on all the rays. The sixth initiation marks the 
point of attainment of the Christ, and brings the synthetic 
ray of the system under His control. We need to remem- 
ber that initiation gives the initiate power on the rays, and 
not power over the rays, for this marks a very definite dif- 
ference. Every initiate has, of course, for his primary or 
spiritual ray one of the three major rays, and the ray of 
his Monad is the one on which he at length gains power. 
The love ray, or the synthetic ray of the system, is the 
final one achieved. 

Those who pass away from the earth after the fifth 
initiation, or those who do not become Masters in physical 
incarnation, take their subsequent initiations elsewhere in 
the system. All are in the Logoic Consciousness. One 
great fact to be borne in mind is, that the initiations of 
the planet or of the solar system are but the preparatory 
initiations of admission into the greater Lodge on Sirius. 
We have the symbolism held for us fairly well in Masonry, 
and in combining the Masonic method with what we are 
told of the steps on the Path of Holiness we get an ap- 
proximate picture. Let us enlarge somewhat: — 

The first four initiations of the solar system corre- 
spond to the four "initiations of the Threshold", prior to 



18 INITIATION DEFINED 

the first cosmic initiation. The fifth initiation corresponds 
to the first cosmic initiation, that of "entered apprentice" 
in Masonry ; and makes a Master an "entered apprentice" 
of the Lodge on Sirius. The sixth initiation is analogous 
to the second degree in Masonry, whilst the seventh initia- 
tion makes the Adept a Master Mason of the Brother- 
hood on Sirius. 

A Master, therefore, is one who has taken the seventh 
planetary initiation, the fifth solar initiation, and the first 
Sirian or cosmic initiation. 

At-one-ment, the result of initiation. 

A point that we need to grasp is that each successive 
initiation brings about a more complete unification of the 
personality and the Ego, and on higher levels still, with 
the Monad. The whole evolution of the human spirit is a 
progressive at-one-ment. In the at-one-ment between the 
Ego and the personality lies hid the mystery of the 
Christian doctrine of the Atonement. One unification 
takes place at the moment of individualisation, when man 
becomes a conscious rational entity, in contradistinction 
to the animals. As evolution proceeds successive at-one- 
ments occur. 

At-one-ment on all levels — emotional, intuitional, 
spiritual and Divine — consists in conscious, continuous 
functioning. In all cases it is preceded by a burning, 
through the medium of the inner fire, and by the destruc- 
tion, through sacrifice, of all that separates. The approach 
to unity is through destruction of the lower, and of all that 
forms a barrier. Take, in illustration, the web that separ- 
ates the etheric body and the emotional. When that web 
has been burned away by the inner fire the communication 
between the bodies of the personality becomes continuous 
and complete, and the three lower vehicles function as one. 



INITIATION DEFINED 19 

You have a somewhat analogous situation on the higher 
levels, though the parallel cannot be pushed to detail. The 
intuition corresponds to the emotional, and the four higher 
levels of the mental plane to the etheric. In the destruc- 
tion of the causal body at the time of the fourth initiation 
(called symbolically "the Crucifixion") you have a process 
analogous to the burning of the web that leads to the uni- 
fication of the bodies of the personality. The disintegra- 
tion that is a part of the arhat initiation leads to unity 
between the Ego and the Monad, expressing itself in the 
Triad. It is the perfect at-one-ment. 

The whole process is therefore for the purpose of mak- 
ing man consciously one: — 

First: With himself, and those in incarnation with 

}iim. 
Second : With his higher self, and thus with all selves. 
Third: With his Spirit, or "Father in Heaven", and 

thus with all Monads. 
Fourth: With the Logos, the Three in One and the 

One in Three. 

Man becomes a conscious human being through the in- 
strumentality of the Lords of the Flame, through Their 
enduring sacrifice. 

Man becomes a conscious Ego, with the consciousness 
of the higher self, at the third initiation, through the in- 
strumentality of the Masters and of the Christ, and 
through Their sacrifice in taking physical incarnation for 
the helping of the world. 

Man unites with the Monad at the fifth initiation, 
through the instrumentality of the Lord of the World, the 
Solitary Watcher, the Great Sacrifice. 

Man becomes one with the Logos through the instru- 
mentality of One about Whom naught may be said. 

// 



CHAPTER III. 
THE WORK OF THE HIERARCHY. 



Though the subject of the occult Hierarchy of the 
planet is of such a profoundly momentous interest to the 
average man, yet its real significance will never be under- 
stood until men realise four things in connection with it. 
First, that the entire Hierarchy of spiritual beings repre- 
sents a synthesis of forces or of energies, which forces or 
energies are consciously manipulated for the furtherance 
of planetary evolution. This will become more apparent 
as we proceed. Secondly, that these forces, demonstrating 
in our planetary scheme through those great Personalities 
Who compose the Hierarchy, link it and all that it con- 
tains with the greater Hierarchy which we call Solar. Our 
Hierarchy is a miniature replica of the greater synthesis 
of those selfconscious Entities who manipulate, control, 
and demonstrate through the sun and the seven sacred 
planets, as Avell as the other planets, greater and smaller, 
of which our solar system is composed. Thirdly, that this 
Hierarchy of forces has four pre-eminent lines of work : — 

To develop self consciousness in all beings. 

The Hierarchy seeks to provide fit conditions for the 
development of selfconsciousness in all beings. This it 
produces primarily in man through its initial work of 
Mending the higher three aspects of spirit with the lower 
four; through the example it sets of service 4 , sacrifice, and 
renunciation, and through (lie constant streams of light 
(occultly understood) which emanate from it. The Hier- 
archy might he considered as the aggregate on our planet 

L>0 



WORK OF HIERARCHY 21 

of the forces of the fifth kingdom in nature. This kingdom 
is entered through the full development and control of the 
fifth principle of mind, and its transmutation into wis- 
dom, which is literally the intelligence applied to all states 
through the full conscious utilisation of the faculty of 
discriminative love. 

To develop consciousness in the three lower kingdoms. 

As is well known, the five kingdoms of nature on the 
evolutionary arc might be defined as follows : — the min- 
eral kingdom, the vegetable kingdom, the animal kingdom, 
the human kingdom, and the spiritual kingdom. All these 
kingdoms embody some type of consciousness, and it is the 
work of the Hierarchy to develop these types to perfection 
through the adjustment of karma, through the agency of 
force, and through the providing of right conditions. 
Some idea of the work may be gained if we briefly sum- 
marize the different aspects of consciousness to be devel- 
oped in the various kingdoms. 

In the mineral kingdom the work of the Hierarchy is 
directed toward the development of the discriminative and 
selective activity. One characteristic of all matter is ac- 
tivity of some kind, and the moment that activity is di- 
rected towards the building of forms, even of the most 
elemental land, the faculty of discrimination will demon- 
strate. This is recognized by scientists everywhere, and 
in this recognition they are approximating the findings of 
the Divine Wisdom. 

In the vegetable kingdom, to this faculty of discrim- 
ination is added that of response to sensation and the 
rudimentary condition of the second aspect of divinity is 
to be seen, just as in the mineral kingdom a similar rudi- 



22 WORK OF HIERARCHY 

mentary reflection of the third aspect of activity is mak- 
ing itself felt. 

In the animal kingdom this rudimentary activity and 
feeling are increased, and symptoms (if it might be so in- 
adequately expressed) are to be found of the first as- 
pect, or embryonic will and purpose ; we may call it heredi- 
tary instinct, but it works out in fact as purpose in nature. 

It has been wisely stated by H. P. Blavatsky that man 
is the macrocosm for the three lower kingdoms, for in him 
these three lines of development are synthesised and come 
to their full fruition. He is verily and indeed intelligence, 
actively and wonderfully manifested; He is incipient love 
and wisdom, even though as yet they may be but the goal 
of his endeavour; and he has that embryonic, dynamic, 
initiating will which will come to a fuller development 
after he has entered into the fifth kingdom. 

In the fifth kingdom, the consciousness to be developed 
is that of the group, and this shows itself in the full flower- 
ing of the love-wisdom faculty. Man but repeats on a 
higher turn of the spiral, the work of the three lower king- 
doms, for in the human kingdom he shows forth the third 
aspect of active intelligence. In the fifth kingdom, which is 
entered at the first initiation, and which covers all the 
period of time wherein a man takes the first five initiations, 
and that wherein he works as a Master, as part of the Hier- 
archy, the love-wisdom, or second aspect, comes to its con- 
summation. At the sixth and seventh initiations the first, 
or will, aspect shines forth, and from being a Master of 
Compassion and a Lord of Love the adept becomes some- 
thing more, lie enters into a still higher consciousness 
than that of the group, and becomes God-conscious. The 
great will or purpose of the Logos becomes his. 

The fostering of the various attributes of divinity, the 
tending of the seed of self-consciousness in all beings, is the 



WORK OF HIERARCHY 23 

work of those Entities who have achieved, Who have en- 
tered into the fifth kingdom and Who have there made 
Their great decision, and that inconceivable renunciation 
which leads Them to stay within the planetary scheme, and 
thus co-operate with the plans of the Planetary Logos on 
the physical plane. 

To transmit the will of the Planetary Logos. 

To act as the transmitter to men and devas or angels, 
of the will of the planetary Logos, and through Him of the 
Solar Logos. Each planetary scheme, ours amongst the 
others, is a centre in the body Logoic, and is expressing 
some form of energy or force. Each centre expresses its 
particular type of force, demonstrated in a triple manner, 
producing thus universally the three aspects in manifesta- 
tion. One of the great realisations which come to those 
who enter into the fifth kingdom is that of the particular 
type of force which our own Planetary Logos embodies. 
The wise student will ponder on this statement, for it 
holds the clue to much that may be seen in the world today. 
The secret of synthesis has been lost, and only when men 
again get back the knowledge which was theirs in earlier 
cycles (having been mercifully withdrawn in Atlantean 
days) of the type of energy which our scheme should be 
demonstrating, will the world problems adjust themselves, 
and the world rhythm be stabilised. This cannot be as 
yet, for this knowledge is of a dangerous kind, and at pres- 
ent the race as a whole is not group conscious, and there- 
fore cannot be trusted to work, think, plan, and act for 
the group. Man is as yet too selfish, but there is no cause 
for discouragement in this fact ; group consciousness is al- 
ready somewhat more than a vision, whilst brotherhood, 
and the recognition of its obligations, is beginning to 



24 WORK OF HIERARCHY 

permeate the consciousness of men everywhere. This is 
the work of the Hierarchy of Light, — to demonstrate to 
men the true meaning of brotherhood, and to foster in them 
response to that ideal which is latent in one and all. 

To set an example to humanity. 

The fourth thing that men need to know and to realise 
as a basic fact is that this Hierarchy is composed of those 
Who have triumphed over matter, and Who have achieved 
the goal by the very self -same steps that individuals tread 
today. These spiritual personalities, these adepts and 
Masters, have wrestled and fought for victory and mastery 
upon the physical plane, and struggled with the miasmas, 
the fogs, the dangers, the troubles, the sorrows and pains 
of everyday living. They have trodden every step of the 
path of suffering, have undergone every experience, have 
surmounted every difficulty, and have won out. These 
Elder Brothers of the race have one and all undergone the 
crucifixion of the personal self, and knoAV that utter re- 
nunciation of all which is the lot of every aspirant at this 
time. There is no phase of agony, no rending sacrifice, 
no Via Dolorosa that They have not in Their time trodden, 
and herein lies Their right to serve, and the strength of the 
method of Their appeal. KnoAving the quintessence of 
pain, knowing the depth of sin and of suffering, Their 
methods can be exquisitely measured to the individual 
need: yet at the same time Their realisation of the libera- 
tion to be achieved through pain, penalty, and suffering, 
and Their apprehension of the freedom that comes through 
Hie sacrifice of (he form by I he medium of the purificatory 
fires, suffices lo give Them a firm hand, an ability to per- 
sist even when the form may seem to have undergone a 
sufficiency of suffering, and a love that triumphs over all 



WORK OF HIERARCHY 25 

setbacks, for it is founded on patience and experience. 
These Elder Brothers of humanity are characterised by a 
love which endures, and which acts ever for the good of 
the group ; by a knowledge which has been gained through 
a millennia of lives, in which They have worked Their way 
from the bottom of life and of evolution well nigh to the 
top ; by an experience which is based on time itself and a 
multiplicity of personality re-actions and interactions ; by 
a courage which is the result of that experience, and which, 
having itself been produced by ages of endeavour, failure, 
and renewed endeavour, and having in the long run led to 
triumph, can now be placed at the service of the race ; by 
a purpose which is enlightened and intelligent, and which 
is co-operative, adjusting itself to the group and hierarch- 
ical plan and thus fitting in with the purpose of the Plane- 
tary Logos; and finally They are distinguished by a 
knowledge of the power of sound. This final fact is the 
basis of that aphorism which states that all true occultists 
are distinguished by the characteristics of knowledge, 
dynamic will, courage, and silence. "To know, to will, to 
dare, and to be silent." Knowing the plan so well, and 
having clear, illuminated vision, They can bend Their will 
unflinchingly and unswervingly to the great work of cre- 
ation by the power of sound. This leads to Their silence 
where the average man would speak, and Their speaking 
where the average man is silent. 

When men have grasped the four facts here enumer- 
ated, and they are established as acknowledged truths in 
the consciousness of the race, then may we look for a re- 
turn of that cycle of peace and rest and righteousness 
which is foretold in all the Scriptures of the world. The 
Sun of Righteousness will then arise with healing in His 
wings, and the peace which passeth understanding will 
reign in the hearts of men. 



26 WOKK OF HIERAECHY 

In dealing with this matter of the work of the occnlt 
Hierarchy, in a book for the general public, much must be 
left unsaid. The average man is interested and his curi- 
osity is aroused by reference to these Personalities, but 
men are not yet ready for more than the most general in- 
formation. For those who, from curiosity, pass on to de- 
sire and seek to know the truth as it is, more will be forth- 
coming, when they themselves have done the necessary 
work and study. Investigation is desired, and the attitude 
of mind which it is hoped this book will arouse might be 
summed up in the following words: — These statements 
sound interesting and perchance they are true. The re- 
ligions of all nations, the Christian included, give indica- 
tions that seem to substantiate these ideas. Let us there- 
fore accept these ideas as a working hypothesis as to the 
consummation of the evolutionary process in man and his 
work upon the attainment of perfection. Let us therefore 
seek for the truth as a fact in our own consciousness. 
Every religious faith holds out the promise that those who 
seek with earnestness shall find that which they are seek- 
ing ; let us, therefore, seek. If by our search we find that 
all these statements are but visionary dreams, and profit 
not at all, leading us only into darkness, time will never- 
theless not have been lost, for we shall have ascertained 
where not to look. If by our search, on the other hand, 
corroboration comes little by little, and the light shines 
ever more clearly, let us persist until that day dawns when 
the light which shineth in darkness will have illuminated 
the heart and brain, and the seeker will awaken to the 
realisation that the whole trend of evolution has been to 
bring him this expansion of consciousness and this illu- 
mination, and that the attainment of the initiatory process, 
and the entrance into the fifth kingdom is no wild chimera 
or phantasm, but an established fact in the consciousness. 



WORK OF HIERAECHY 27 

This each man must ascertain for himself. Those who 
know may state a fact to be thus and so, but the dictum 
of another person and the enunciation of a theory do not 
aid beyond giving to the seeker confirmatory indication. 
Each soul has to ascertain for himself, and must find out 
within himself, remembering ever that the kingdom of 
God is within, and that only those facts which are realised 
within the individual consciousness as truths are of any 
real value. In the meantime, that which many know, and 
have ascertained within themselves to be truths of an in- 
controvertible nature for them, may here be stated ; to the 
intelligent reader will then arise the opportunity and the 
responsibility of ascertaining for himself their falsity or 
truth. 



CHAPTER IV. 
THE FOUNDING OF THE HIERARCHY. 

Its appearance on the planet. 

It is not sought, in this book, to deal with the steps 
which led to the founding of the Hierarchy on the planet, 
nor to consider the conditions preceding the advent of 
those great Beings. This can be studied in other occult 
books in the Occident, and in the sacred Scriptures of the 
East. Suffice it for our purpose to say that in the middle 
of the Lemurian epoch, approximately eighteen million 
years ago, occurred a great event which signified, among 
other things, the following developments : — The Planetary 
Logos of our earth scheme, one of the Seven Spirits before 
the throne, took physical incarnation, and, under the form 
of Sanat Kumara, the Ancient of Days, and the Lord of 
the World, came down to this dense physical planet and 
has remained with us ever since. Owing to the extreme 
purity of His nature, and the fact that he is (from the 
human standpoint) relatively sinless, and hence incapable 
of response to aught on the dense physical plane, He was 
unable to take a dense physical body such as ours, and has 
to function in His etheric body. He is the greatest of all 
the Avatars, or Coming Ones, for He is a direct reflection 
of that great Entity Avho lives, and breathes, and functions 
through all the evolutions on this planet, holding all with- 
in His aura or magnetic sphere of influence. In Him we live 
and move and have our being, and none of us can pass 
beyond the radius of His aura. He is the Great Sacrifice, 
Who left the glory of the high places and for tin 1 sake of 
the evolving sons of men took upon Himself a physical 

28 



FOUNDING OF HIERARCHY 29 

form and was made in the likeness of man. He is the Sil- 
ent Watcher, as far as onr immediate humanity is con- 
cerned, although literally the Planetary Logos Himself, 
on the higher plane of consciousness whereon He func- 
tions, is the true Silent Watcher where the planetary 
scheme is concerned. Perhaps it might be stated thus : — 
That the Lord of the World, the One Initiator, holds the 
same place in connection with the Planetary Logos as the 
physical manifestation of a Master holds to that Master's 
Monad on the monadic plane. In both cases the interme- 
diate state of consciousness has been superseded, that of 
the Ego or higher self, and that which we see and know 
is the direct self-created manifestation of pure spirit it- 
self. Hence the sacrifice. It must here be borne in mind 
that in the case of Sanat Kumara there is a tremendous 
difference in degree, for His point in evolution is as far in 
advance of that of an adept as that adept's is in advance 
of animal man. This will be somewhat elaborated in the 
next section of our subject. 

With the Ancient of Days came a group of other high- 
ly evolved Entities, who represent His own individual 
karmic group and those beings who are the outcome of the 
triple nature of the Planetary Logos. If one might so ex- 
press it They embody the forces emanating from the head, 
heart, and throat centres, and They came in with Sanat 
Kumara to form focal points of planetary force for the 
helping of the great plan for the self-conscious unfoldment 
of all life. Their places have gradually been filled by the 
sons of men as they qualify, though this includes very few, 
until lately, from our immediate earth humanity. Those 
who are now the inner group around the Lord of the World 
have been primarily recruited from the ranks of those who 
were initiates on the moon-chain (the cycle of evolution 
preceding ours) or who have come in on certain streams 



30 FOUNDING OF HIERARCHY 

of solar energy, astrologically determined, from other 
planetary schemes, yet those who have triumphed in our 
own humanity are rapidly increasing in number, and hold 
all the minor offices beneath the central esoteric group of 
Six, who, with the Lord of the World, form the heart of 
hierarchical effort. 



The immediate effect. 

The result of Their advent, millennia of years ago, was 
stupendous, and its effects are still being felt. Those ef- 
fects might be enumerated as follows: — The Planetary 
Logos on His own plane was enabled to take a more direct 
method in producing the results He desired for working 
out His plan. As is well known, the planetary scheme, 
with its dense globe and inner subtler globes, is to the 
Planetary Logos what the physical body and its subtler 
bodies are to man. Hence in illustration it might be said 
that the coming into incarnation of Sanat Kumara was 
analogous to the firm grip of self-conscious control that 
the Ego of a human being takes upon his vehicles when 
the necessary stage in evolution has been achieved. It has 
been said that in the head of every man are seven centres 
of force, which are linked to the other centres in the body, 
and through which the force of the Ego is spread and cir- 
culated, thus working out the plan. Sanat Kumara, with 
the six other Kumaras, holds a similar position. These 
central seven are as the seven head centres to the body 
corporate. They are the directing agents and the trans- 
mitters of the energy, force, purpose, and will of the Plane- 
fcary Logos on His own plane. This planetary head 
centre works directly through the heart and throat centres, 
and thereby controls all the remaining. This is by way of 



FOUNDING OF HIERARCHY 31 

illustration, and an attempt to show the relation of the 
Hierarchy to its planetary source, and also the close 
analogy between the method of functioning of a Planetary 
Logos and of man, the microcosm. 

The third kingdom of nature, the animal kingdom, 
had reached a relatively high state in evolution, and animal 
man was in possession of the earth ; he was a being with a 
powerful physical body, a co-ordinated astral body, or body 
of sensation and feeling, and a rudimentary germ of mind 
which might some day form a nucleus of a mental body. 
Left to himself for long aeons animal man would have 
eventually progressed out of the animal kingdom into the 
human, and would have become a self-conscious, function- 
ing, rational entity, but how slow the process would have 
been may be evidenced by the study of the bushmen of 
South Africa, the Veddhas of Ceylon, and the hairy Ainus. 

The decision of the Planetary Logos to take a physical 
vehicle produced an extraordinary stimulation in the 
evolutionary process, and by His incarnation, and the 
methods of force distribution He employed, He brought 
about in a brief cycle of time what would otherwise have 
been inconceivably slow. The germ of mind in animal 
man was stimulated. The four-fold lower man, 

a. The physical body in its dual capacity, 

etheric and dense, 

b. Vitality, life force, or prana, 

c. The astral or emotional body, 

d. The incipient germ of mind, 

was co-ordinated and stimulated, and became a fit re- 
ceptacle for the coming in of the self-conscious entities, 
those spiritual triads (the reflection of spiritual will, in- 
tuition, or wisdom, and higher mind) who had for long 
ages been waiting for just such a fitting. The fourth, or 



32 POUNDING OF HIERARCHY 

human kingdom, came thus into being, and the self- 
conscious, or rational unit, man, began his career. 

Another result of the advent of the Hierarchy was a 
similar, though less recognised development in all the 
kingdoms of nature. In the mineral kingdom, for instance, 
certain of the minerals or elements received an added 
stimulation, and became radio-active, and a mysterious 
chemical change took place in the vegetable kingdom. This 
facilitated the bridging process between the vegetable and 
animal kingdom, just as the radio-activity of minerals is 
the method of bridging the gulf between the mineral and 
vegetable kingdoms. In due course of time scientists will 
recognise that every kingdom in nature is linked and en- 
tered when the units of that kingdom become radio-active. 
But it is not necessary for us to digress along these lines. 
A hint suffices for those who have eyes to see, and the 
intuition to comprehend the meaning conveyed by terms 
which are handicapped by having a purely material con- 
notation. 

In Lemurian days, after the great descent of the 
spiritual Existences to the earth, the work They planned 
to do was systematised. Offices were apportioned, and the 
processes of evolution in all the departments of nature 
were brought under the conscious wise guidance of this 
initial Brotherhood. This Hierarchy of Brothers of Light 
still exists, and the work goes steadily on. They are all in 
physical existence, either in dense physical bodies, such 
as many of the Masters employ, or in etheric bodies, such 
as the more exalted helpers and the Lord of the World 
occupy. It is of value Cor men to remember that They are 
in physical existence, and to bear in mind that They exist 
upon this planet with OS, controlling its destinies, guiding 

its affairs, and Leading all its evolutions on to an ultimate 
perfection. 



FOUNDING OF HIERARCHY 33 

The central home of this Hierarchy is at Shamballa, 
a centre in the Gobi desert, called in the ancient books the 
"White Island. " It exists in etheric matter, and when 
the race of men on earth have developed etheric vision its 
location will be recognised and its reality admitted. The 
development of this vision is rapidly coming to pass, as 
may be seen from the newspapers and the current litera- 
ture of the day, but the location of Shamballa will be one 
of the latest etheric sacred spots to be revealed as it exists 
in the matter of the second ether. Several of the Masters 
in physical bodies dwell in the Himalaya mountains, in a 
secluded spot called Shigatse, far from the ways of men, 
but the greater number are scattered all over the world, 
dwelling in different places in the various nations, un- 
recognised and unknown, yet forming each in His own 
place a focal point for the energy of the Lord of the World, 
and proving to His environment a distributor of the love 
and wisdom of the Deity. 

The opening of the Door of Initiation. 

It is not possible to touch upon the history of the 
Hierarchy during the long ages of its work, beyond men- 
tioning certain outstanding events of the past, and 
pointing out certain eventualities. For ages after its 
immediate founding, the work was slow and discouraging. 
Thousands of years came and went, and races of men ap- 
peared and disappeared from the earth before it was pos- 
sible to delegate even the work done by initiates of the first 
degree for the evolving sons of men. But in the middle 
of the fourth root-race, the Atlantean, an event occurred 
which necessitated a change, or innovation in the Hierarch- 
ical method. Certain of its members were called away 



34 FOUNDING OF HIERAKCHY 

to higher work elsewhere in the solar system, and this 
brought in, through necessity, a number of highly evolved 
units of the human family. In order to enable others to 
take Their place, the lesser members of the Hierarchy were 
all moved up a step, leaving vacancies among the minor 
posts. Therefore three things were decided upon in the 
Council Chamber of the Lord of the World. 

1. To close the door through which animal men 
passed into the human kingdom, permitting for a time no 
more Monads on the higher plane to appropriate bodies. 
This restricted the number of the fourth, or human king- 
dom, to its then limitation. 

2. To open another door, and permit members of the 
human family who were willing to undergo the necessary 
discipline and to make the required stupendous effort, to 
enter the fifth or spiritual kingdom. In this way the ranks 
of the Hierarchy could be filled by the members of earth's 
humanity who qualified. This door is called the Portal 
of Initiation, and still remains open upon the same terms 
as laid down by the Lord of the World in Atlantean days. 
These terms will be stated in the last chapter of this book. 
The door between the human and animal kingdoms will 
again be opened during the next great cycle, or 'round' as 
it is called in some books, but as this is several million 
years away from us at this time, we are not concerned 
with it. 

3. It was also decided to make the line of demarca- 
tion between the two forces of matter and spirit clearly 
defined ; the inherent duality of all manifestation was em- 
phasized, with the aim in view of teaching men how to 
liberate themselves from the limitations of the fourth, or 
human kingdom, and thus pass on into the fifth, or spirit- 
nal. The problem of good or evil, light or darkness, right 
or wrong, was enunciated solely for the benefit of human- 



FOUNDING OF HIEEAECHY 35 

ity, and to enable men to cast off the fetters which, im- 
prisoned spirit, and thus achieve spiritual freedom. This 
problem exists not in the kingdoms below man, nor for 
those who transcend the human. Man has to learn through 
experience and pain the fact of the duality of all existence. 
Having thus learnt, he chooses that which concerns the 
fully conscious spirit aspect of divinity, and learns to 
centre himself in that aspect. Having thus achieved liber- 
ation he finds indeed that all is one, that spirit and matter 
are a unity, naught existing save that which is to be found 
within the consciousness of the Planetary Logos, and — in 
wider circles — within the consciousness of the Solar Logos. 

The Hierarchy thus took advantage of the discrimina- 
tive faculty of mind, which is the distinctive quality of 
humanity, to enable him, through the balancing of the 
pairs of opposites, to reach his goal, and to find his way 
back to the source from whence he came. 

This decision led to that great struggle which dis- 
tinguished the Atlantean civilisation, and which culmi- 
nated in the destruction called the flood, referred to in 
all the Scriptures of the world. The forces of light, and 
the forces of darkness, were arrayed against each other, 
and this for the helping of humanity. The struggle still 
persists, and the World War through which we have just 
passed was a recrudescence of it. On every side in that 
World War two groups were to be found, those who fought 
for an ideal as they saw it, for the highest that they knew, 
and those who fought for material and selfish advantage. 
In the struggle of these influential idealists or materialists 
many were swept in who fought blindly and ignorantly, 
being thus overwhelmed with racial karma and disaster. 

These three decisions of the Hierarchy are having, and 
will have a profound effect upon humanity, but the result 
desired is being achieved, and a rapid hastening of the 



36 FOUNDING OF HIERARCHY 

evolutionary process, and a profoundly important effect 
upon the mind aspect in man, can already be seen. 

It might here be well to point out that, working as 
members of that Hierarchy are a great number of beings 
called angels by the Christian, and devas by the oriental. 
Many of them have passed through the human stage long 
ages ago, and work now in the ranks of the great evolution 
parallel to the human, and which is called the deva evolu- 
tion. This evolution comprises among other factors, the 
builders of the objective planet and the forces which pro- 
duce, through those builders, every form familiar and 
unfamiliar. The devas who co-operate with the Hierarch- 
ical effort, concern themselves, therefore, with the form 
aspect, whilst the other members of the Hierarchy are oc- 
cupied with the development of consciousness within the 
form. 



CHAPTER V. 
THE THREE DEPARTMENTS OF THE HIERARCHY 



We have already dealt with the subject of the founding 
of the Hierarchy upon earth, and we saw how it came to 
be, touching likewise upon certain crises which have 
occurred, and which still affect events in the present time. 
In dealing with the work and aims of the personnel of the 
Hierarchy, it will not be possible to state what those aims 
have been, nor to consider in detail who the active person- 
alities have been during the past millennia of years since 
the Hierarchy came into existence. 

Many great Beings from planetary and solar sources, 
and once or twice from cosmic sources, have at times lent 
Their aid and dwelt briefly upon our planet. By the 
energy which flowed through Them, and by Their profound 
wisdom and experience, They stimulated earth's evolutions 
and brought the purposes of the Planetary Logos so much 
the nearer to completion. Then They passed on, and Their 
places were taken by those among the members of the 
Hierarchy Who were willing to undergo a specific training 
and expansion of consciousness. In turn these adepts and 
Masters had Their places filled by initiates, and thus con- 
stantly has there been opportunity for disciples and highly 
evolved men and women to pass into the ranks of the Hier- 
archy, and thus constantly has there been a circulation of 
new life and blood, and the coming in of those who belong 
to a particular period or age. 

Some of the great names during the later periods are 
known to history, such as Shri Sankaracharya, Vyasa, 
Mahommet, Jesus of Nazareth, and Krishna, down to those 



37 



38 DEPARTMENTS OF HIERARCHY 

lesser initiates, Paul of Tarsus, Luther, and certain of the 
outstanding lights in European history. Always have 
these men and women been agents for the carrying out of 
race purpose, for the bringing about of group conditions, 
and for the furthering of the evolution of humanity. 
Sometimes they have appeared as beneficent forces, 
bringing peace and contentment with them. More often 
have they come as agents of destruction, breaking up the 
old forms of religion and of government in order that the 
life within the rapidly crystallising form might be set free 
and build for itself a newer and a better vehicle. 

Much that is stated here is already well known, and 
has already been given out in the different occult books. 
Yet in the wise and careful enunciation of collected facts, 
and their correlation with that which may be new to some 
students, comes an eventual synthetic grasp of the great 
plan, and a wise uniform realisation as to the work of that 
great group of liberated souls who, in utter self-abnega- 
tion, stand silently behind the world panorama. Through 
the power of their will, the strength of their meditations, 
the wisdom of their plans, and the scientific knowledge of 
energy which is theirs, they direct those force currents, 
and control those form-building agencies which produce 
all that is seen and unseen, movable and immovable in the 
sphere of creation within the three worlds. This, coupled 
to their vast experience, is what fits them to be the agents 
for the distribution of the energy of the Planetary Logos. 

As lias already been stated, at the head of affairs, con- 
trolling each unit and directing all evolution, stands the 
KING, the Lord of* the World, Sanat Kuniara, the Youth 
of endless Bummers, and the Fountainhead of the Will, 
(showing forth as Love) of the Planetary Logos. Co-oper- 
ating with 1 1 i in as His advisers are three Personalities 
called the Pratyeka Buddhas, or the Buddhas of Activity. 



DEPARTMENTS OF HIERARCHY 39 

These four are the embodiment of active intelligent loving 
will. They are the full flowering of the intelligence, 
having achieved in an earlier solar system that which man 
is now striving to perfect. In earlier cycles in this system 
They began to demonstrate intelligent love, and from the 
standpoint of the average human being They are perfect 
love and perfect intelligence, though from the standpoint 
of that Existence Who embraces even our planetary 
scheme in His body of manifestation, that love aspect is as 
yet but in process of developing, and the will is only em- 
bryonic. Another solar system will see the will aspect 
come to fruition, as love will mature in this. 

Standing around the Lord of the World, but with- 
drawn and esoteric, are three more Kumaras, Who make 
the seven of planetary manifestation. Their work is to us 
necessarily obscure. The three exoteric Buddhas, or Ku- 
maras, are the sum-total of activity or planetary energy, 
and the three esoteric Kumaras embody types of energy 
which as yet are not in full demonstration upon our planet. 
Each of these six Kumaras is a reflection of, and the dis- 
tributing agent for, the energy and force of one of the six 
other Planetary Logoi, the remaining six spirits before 
the Throne. Sanat Kumara alone, in this scheme, is self- 
sustaining and self-sufficient, being the physical incarna- 
tion of one of the Planetary Logoi, which one it is not 
permissible to state, as this fact is one of the secrets of 
initiation. Through each of Them passes the life force of 
one of the six rays, and in considering Them one might 
sum up Their work and position as follows : — 

1. They each embody one of the six types of energy, 
with the Lord of the World as the synthesiser and 
the embodier of the perfect seventh type, our 
planetary type. 

2. They are each distinguished by one of the six 



40 DEPARTMENTS OF HIERARCHY 

colours, with the Lord of the World showing forth 
the full planetary colour, these six being subsid- 
iary. 

3. Their work is therefore concerned, not only with 
force distribution, but with the passing into our 
scheme from other planetary schemes, of Egos 
seeking earth experience. 

4. Each of Them is in direct communication with one 
or another of the sacred planets. 

5. According to astrological conditions, and ac- 
cording to the turning of the planetary wheel of 
life, so one or another of these Kumaras will be 
active. The three Buddhas of Activity change 
from time to time, and become in turn exoteric or 
esoteric as the case may be. Only the King per- 
sists steadily and watchfully in active physical in- 
carnation. 

Besides these main presiding Personalities in the 
Council Chamber at Shamballa, there is a group of four 
Beings Who are the representatives upon the planet of the 
four Maharajas, or the four Lords of Karma in the solar 
system, avIio are specifically concerned with the evolution 
at the present time of the human kingdom. These four 
are connected with: — 

1. The distribution of karma, or human destiny, as it 
affects individuals, and through the individuals, 
the groups. 

2. The care and tabulation of the akashic records. 
They are concerned with the Halls of Records, or 
with the "keeping of the book," as it is called in 
the Christian Bible; They are known in the Chris- 
tian world as i lie recording angels. 



DEPARTMENTS OF HIERARCHY 41 

3. The participation in solar councils. They alone 
have the right during the world cycle to pass 
beyond the periphery of the planetary scheme, and 
participate in the councils of the Solar Logos. 
Thus They are literally planetary mediators, rep- 
resenting our Planetary Logos and all that con- 
cerns Him in the greater scheme of which He is 
but a part. 
Co-operating with these karmic Lords are the large 

groups of initiates and devas who occupy themselves with 

the right adjustment of : — 

a. World karma, 

b. Eacial karma, 

c. National karma, 

d. Group karma, 

e. Individual karma, 

and who are responsible to the Planetary Logos for the 
correct manipulation of those forces and building agencies 
which bring in the right Egos on the different rays at the 
correct times and seasons. 

With all these groups we have little concern, for they 
are contacted only by initiates of the third initiation, and 
by those of even more exalted rank. 

The remaining personnel of the Hierarchy is, divided 
into three main and four subsidiary groups, each of these 
groups, as will be seen by reference to the appended chart, 
being presided over by one of Those Whom we call the 
three Great Lords. 

The ivork of the Manu. 

The Manu presides over group one. He is called Vaiv- 
asvata Manu, and is the Manu of the fifth root-race. He 
is the ideal man or thinker, and sets the type for our Aryan 



42 DEPARTMENTS OF HIERARCHY 

race, having presided over its destinies since its inception 
nearly one hundred thousand years ago. Other Manus 
have come and gone and His place will be, in the rela- 
tively near future, taken by someone else. He will then 
pass on to other work of a more exalted kind. The Manu, 
or the prototype of the fourth root-race, works in close 
co-operation with Him, and has His centre of influence in 
China. He is the second Manu that the fourth root-race 
has had, having taken the place of the earlier Manu at the 
time of the final stages of Atlantean destruction. He 
has remained to foster the development of the race 
type, and to bring about its final disappearance. The 
periods of office of all the Manus overlap, but there 
remains no representative of the third root-race up- 
on the globe at this time. Vaivasvata Manu has 
His dwelling place in the Himalaya mountains, and has 
gathered around Him at Shigatse some of those immedi- 
ately connected with Aryan affairs in India, Europe and 
America, and those who will later be concerned with the 
coming sixth root-race. The plans are prepared for ages 
ahead, centres of energy are formed thousands of years 
before they will be required, and in the wise fore-know- 
ledge of these Divine Men nothing is left to sudden 
eventuation, but all moves in ordered cycles and under 
rule and law, though within karmic limitations. 

The work of the Manu is largely concerned with gov- 
ernment, with planetary politics, and with the founding, 
direction, and dissolution of racial types and forms. To 
Him is com in it ted the will and purpose of the rhmetary 
Logos. He knows what is the immediate objective for this 
cycle of* evolution over which He has to preside, and His 
work concerns itself with making that will an accom- 
plished fact. He works in closer co-operation with the 
building devas than does His Brother, the Christ, for to 



DEPARTMENTS OF HIERARCHY 43 

Him is given the work of setting the race type, of segre- 
gating the groups out of which races will develop, of 
manipulating the forces which move the earth's crust, of 
raising and lowering continents, of directing the minds of 
statesmen everywhere so that racial government will pro- 
ceed as desired, and conditions be brought about which 
will produce those needed for the fostering of any par- 
ticular type. Such a work can now be seen demonstrating 
in North America and Australia. 

The energy which flows through Him emanates from 
the head centre of the Planetary Logos, passing to Him 
through the brain of Sanat Kumara, Who focalises all the 
planetary energy within Himself. He works by the means 
of a dynamic meditation, conducted within the head centre, 
and produces His results through His perfect realisation 
of that which has to be accomplished, through a power to 
visualise that which must be done to bring about accom- 
plishment, and through a capacity to transmit creative and 
destructive energy to those who are His assistants. And 
all this is brought about through the power of the enunci- 
ated sound. 

The work of the World Teacher, the Christ. 

Group two has the World Teacher for its presiding 
Head. He is that Great Being Whom the Christian calls 
the Christ ; He is known also in the Orient as the Boddhi- 
sattva, and as the Lord Maitreya, and is the One looked 
for by the devout Mohammedan, under the name of the 
Iman Madhi. He it is Who has presided over the destinies 
of life since about 600 B.C. and He it is Who has come out 
among men before, and Who is again looked for. He is 
the great Lord of Love and of Compassion, just as his 
predecessor, the Buddha, was the Lord of Wisdom. 



44 DEPARTMENTS OF HIERARCHY 



Through. Him flows the energy of the second aspect, 
reaching Him direct from the heart centre of the Planetary 
Logos via the heart of Sanat Kumara. He works by means 
of a meditation centred within the heart. He is the World 
Teacher, the Master of the Masters, and the Instructor of 
the Angels, and to Him is committed the guidance of the 
spiritual destinies of men, and the development of the 
realisation within each human being that he is a child of 
God and a son of the Most High. 

Just as the Manu is occupied with the providing of 
the type and forms through which consciousness can evolve 
and gather experience, thus making existence, in its 
deepest sense, possible, so the World Teacher directs that 
indwelling consciousness in its life or spirit aspect, seeking 
to energise it within the form so that, in due course of time, 
that form can be discarded, and the liberated spirit return 
whence it came. Ever since He left the earth, as related 
with approximate accuracy in the Bible story (though 
with much error in detail) has He stayed with the sons of 
men; never has He really gone, but only in appearance, 
and in a physical body He can be found by those who know 
the way, dwelling in the Himalayas, and working in close 
co-operation with His tAvo great Brothers, the Manu and 
the Mahachohan. Daily He pours out His blessing on the 
world, and daily He stands under the great pine in His 
garden at the sunset hour with hands uplifted in blessing 
over all those who truly and earnestly seek to aspire. To 
Him all seekers are known, and, though they may remain 
unaware of Him, the Light which Be pours forth stimulates 
their desire, fosters the spark of straggling life and spurs 
on I he aspirant until the momentous day dawns when 
they stand face to face with the One Who by being "lifted 
up" (occultly understood) is drawing all men unto Him- 
self as the [nitiator of the sacred mysteries. 



DEPARTMENTS OF HIERARCHY 45 

The work of the Lord of Civilisation, the Mahachohan. 

Group three has as its Head the Mahachohan. His 
rule over the group persists for a longer period than that 
of His two Brothers, and He may hold office for the term 
of several root-races. He is the sum total of the intelli- 
gence aspect. The present Mahachohan is not the original 
one Who held the office at the founding of the Hierarchy 
in Lemurian days. It was then held by one of the Ku- 
maras, or Lords of the Flame, Who came into incarnation 
with Sanat Kumara, but He took hold of His position 
during the second sub-race of the Atlantean root race. He 
had achieved adeptship on the moon-chain, and it was 
through His instrumentality that a large number of the 
present more advanced human beings came into incarna- 
tion in the middle of the Atlantean root race. Karmic 
affiliation with Him was one of the predisposing- causes, 
thus making this eventuality possible. 

His work concerns itself with the fostering and 
strengthening of that relation between spirit and matter, 
life and form, the self and the not-self, which results in what 
we call civilisation. He manipulates the forces of nature, 
and is largely the emanating source of electrical energy as 
we know it. Being the reflection of the third, or creative 
aspect, energy from the Planetary Logos flows to Him from 
the throat centre, and He it is Who in many ways makes 
the work of His Brothers possible. Their plans and desires 
are submitted to Him, and through Him pass the instruc- 
tions to a large number of the deva agents. 

Thus you have Will, Love, and Intelligence repre- 
sented in these three great Lords; you have the self, the 
not-self, and the relation between synthesised in the unity 
of manifestation ; you have racial government, religion and 
civilisation forming a coherent whole, and you have physi- 



46 DEPARTMENTS OF HIERARCHY 

cal manifestation, the love or desire aspect, and the mind 
of the Planetary Logos working ont into objectivity. The 
closest co-operation and nnity exists between these three 
Personalities, and every move and plan and event exists 
in Their nnited fore-knoAvledge. They are in daily tonch 
with the Lord of the World at Shamballa, and the entire 
guidance of affairs rests in Their hands, and in those of 
the Manu of the fourth root race. The World Teacher 
holds office in connection with both the fourth and fifth 
root races. 

Each of these departmental heads directs a number of 
subsidiary offices, and the department of the Mahachohan 
is divided into five divisions, so as to take in the four lesser 
aspects of Hierarchical rule. 

Under the Manu work the regents of the different 
world divisions, such as, for instance, the Master Jupiter, 
the oldest of the Masters now working in physical bodies 
for humanity, Who is the regent for India, and the Master 
Rakoczi, Who is the regent for Europe and America. It 
must be remembered here that though the Master R., for 
instance, belongs to the seventh ray, and thus comes under 
the department of energy of the Mahachohan, yet in Hier- 
archical work He may and does hold office temporarily 
under the Manu. These regents hold in Their hands the 
reins of government for continents and nations, thus 
guiding, even if unknown, their destinies; They impress 
and inspire statesmen and rulers ; They pour forth mental 
energy on governing groups, thus bringing about the 
desired results wherever co-operation and receptive intui- 
tion can be found amongst the thinkers. 

The World Teacher presides over the destiny of the 
great religions through the medium of a group of Masters 
and initiates Who direct the activities of these different 
schools of thought. In illustration: — The Master Jesus, 



DEPAETMENTS OF HIEEAECHY 47 

the inspirer and director of the Christian Churches every- 
where, though an adept on the sixth ray under the depart- 
ment of the Mahachohan, works at present under the 
Christ for the welfare of Christianity ; other Masters hold 
similar posts in relation to the great oriental faiths, and 
the various occidental schools of thought. 

In the department of the Mahachohan a large number 
of Masters, in five-fold division, work in connection with 
the deva evolution, and with the intelligence aspect in man. 
Their divisions follow those of the four minor rays of 
attribute : — 

1. The ray of harmony or beauty. 

2. The ray of concrete science or knowledge. 

3. The ray of devotion or abstract idealism. 

4. The ray of ceremonial law or magic, 

just as the three departmental heads represent the three 
major rays of: — 

I. Will or power. 
II. Love or wisdom. 
III. Active intelligence, or adaptability. 
The four rays or attributes of mind, with the third ray of 
intelligence, as synthesised by the Mahachohan, make up 
the sum total of the fifth principle of mind or manas. 



SOLAR /JND FL/J/V£r/?J?y ///EF?/]/?CHlES 



^OLflf? LOGOS 




'This diagram is an outline of a portion of the Hierarchy at the 
prc-cnt moment, and ghrei only the outstanding Fipures, In 
connection with hnman evolution. A similar diagram from the 
standpoint of the dera evolution would be differently arranged." 
criic connecting lines Indicate force enrrents) 



48 



KEY TO DIAGRAM OF SOLAR AND PLANETARY HIERARCHIES 
THE SOLAR HIERARCHY 

The Solar Logos. 

The Solar Trinity or Logoi 

I The Father .Will. 

II The Son iLove-wisdom. 

Ill The Holy Spirit Active Intelligence. 

The Seven Rays 
Three Rays of Aspect. 
Four Rays of Attribute. 
..II. Love- wisdom III. Active Intelligence 

4. Harmony or Beauty. 

5. Concrete Knowledge. 

6. Devotion or Idealism. 

7. Ceremonial magic. 



1. Will or Power 



THE PLANETARY HIERARCHY 

S. Sanat Kumara, the Lord of the World. 

(The Ancient of Days. 

The One Initiator). 

The Three Kumaras. 

(The Buddhas of Activity.) 

12 3 

I 

The reflections of the 3 major and 4 minor Rays. 

The 3 Departmental Heads. 

1. The Will Aspect II. The Love-wisdom III. Intelligence Aspect. 

Aspect. 

I 
A. The Manu. B. The Boddhisattva. 

I (The Christ. 

The World Teacher.) 
I 
b. A European Master. 



C. The Mahachohan. 
(Lord of Civilisation) 



I 

b. Master Jupiter. 

I 

c. Master M — . 



c. Master K.H. 

d. Master D.K. 



Four grades of initiates. 
Various grades of disciples. 
People on the Probationary Path. 



c. The Venetian Master. 
I 

4. The Master Serapis. 

5. Master Hilarion. 

6. Master Jesus. 

7. Master R— . 



Average humanity of all degrees. 

49 



CHAPTER VI. 
THE LODGE OF MASTERS 



Their divisions. 

We have considered somewhat the highest offices in 
the ranks of the Hierarchy of onr planet. Now we will 
deal with what we might call the two divisions into which 
the remaining members are divided. They form literally 
two Lodges within the greater body : — 

a. The — Lodge, comprised of initiates above the 
fifth initiation, and a gronp of devas or angels. 

b. The Bine Lodge, comprised of all initiates of the 
third, fourth, and fifth initiations. 

Below these come a large group of initiates of the first and 
second initiations, and then the disciples of every grade. 
The disciples are considered as affiliated with the Lodge, 
but not as literally members of it. Finally come those 
who are on probation, and who hope through strenuous 
effort to achieve affiliation. 

From another point of view we can consider the Lodge 
members as existing in seven groups, each group repre- 
senting one type of the sevenfold planetary energy eman- 
ating from the Planetary Logos. The triple division has 
first been given, as ever in evolution you have the major 
three (manifesting through the three departments) and 
then the seven, these seven showing again as a triple dif- 
ferent hit ion and a septenary. Students must bear in mind 
I luil all thai is herein imparted concerns the work of the 
Hierarchy in connection with the fourth or human king- 
dom, and refers especially to those Masters Who work in 
connection with humanity. Were the deva evolution being 

50 



LODGE OF MASTEKS 51 

dealt with, the entire tabulation and division would have 
to differ from this. 

Again, there are certain aspects of Hierarchical work 
affecting, for instance, the animal kingdom ; this work calls 
into activity beings and workers and adepts totally distinct 
from the servers of the fourth, or human, kingdom. There- 
fore students should carefully remember that all these 
details are relative, and that the work and personnel of 
the Hierarchy are infinitely greater and more important 
than may appear upon a superficial reading of these pages. 
Certainly we are dealing with what might be considered 
Its primary work, for in the service of the human kingdom 
we are concerned with the manifestation of the three 
aspects of divinity, but the other departments are inteiv 
dependent and the work progresses as a synthetic whole. 

The workers, or adepts, concerned with the evolution 
of the human family, comprise sixty-three, if the three 
great Lords are counted in, making the nine times seven 
necessary for the work. Of these forty-nine work exoteric- 
ally, if it might be so expressed, and fourteen esoterically, 
being more concerned with the subjective manifestation. 
Not many of Their names are known to the public, nor 
would it be wise in many cases to reveal Who They are, 
where They dwell, and what is Their particular sphere of 
activity. A very small minority, through group karma 
and a willingness thus to sacrifice Themselves, have come 
before the public eye during the past one hundred years, 
and therefore concerning these, certain information may 
be given out. Quite a number of people in the world today 
are aware of Their existence independently of any particu- 
lar school of thought, and the realisation that Those Whom 
they thus know personally are workers in a great and 
unified scheme of endeavour may encourage these real 
knowers to testify to their knowledge, and thus establish 



52 LODGE OF MASTERS 

past all controversy the reality of Their work. Certain 
schools of occultism and of theosophical endeavour have 
claimed to be the sole repository of Their teaching, and the 
sole outlet for Their efforts, thereby limiting that which 
They do, and formulating premises which time and circum- 
stance will fail to substantiate. They work most assuredly 
through such groups of thinkers, and throw much of Their 
force into the work of such organisations, yet, nevertheless, 
They have Their disciples and Their followers everywhere, 
and work through many bodies and many aspects of 
teaching. Throughout the world, disciples of these Mas- 
ters have come into incarnation at this time with the sole 
intent of participating in the activities and occupations 
and truth dissemination of the' various churches, sciences, 
and philosophies, and thus producing within the organisa- 
tion itself an expansion, a widening, and a disintegration 
where necessary, which might otherwise be impossible. 
It might be wise for occult students everywhere to recog- 
nise these facts, and to cultivate the ability to recognise 
the hierarchical vibration as it demonstrates through the 
medium of disciples in the most unlikely places and groups. 
One point should here be stated in connection with 
the work of the Masters through Their disciples, and it is 
this. All the various schools of thought which are fos- 
tered by the energy of the Lodge are, in every case, founded 
by a disciple, or several disciples, and upon these disciples, 
and not upon the Master, lies responsibility for results and 
the consequent karma. The method of procedure is some- 
what as follows: — The Master reveals to a disciple the 
object Lve in view for an immediate little cycle, and suggests 
to 1 1 i iii thai such and such a development would be desir- 
able. It is the work of the disciple to ascertain the best 
method lor bringing about the desired results, and to for- 
mulate the plans whereby a certain percentage of success 



LODGE OF MASTERS 53 

will be possible. Then he launches his scheme, founds his 
society or organisation, and disseminates the necessary- 
teaching. Upon him rests the responsibility for choosing 
the right co-workers, for handing on the work to those best 
fitted, and for clothing the teaching in a presentable garb. 
All that the Master does is to look on with interest and 
sympathy at the endeavour, as long as it holds its initial 
high ideal and proceeds with pure altruism upon its way. 
The Master is not to blame should the disciple show lack 
of discrimination in the choice of co-workers, or evidence 
an inability to represent the truth. If he does^well, and. 
the work proceeds as desired, the Master will continue to 
pour His blessing upon the attempt. If he fails, or his 
successors turn from the original impulse, thus dissemi- 
nating error of any kind, in His love and in His sympathy 
the Master will withdraw that blessing, withhold His 
energy, and thus cease from stimulating that which had 
better die. Forms may come and go, and the interest of 
the Master and His blessing pour through this or that 
channel; the work may proceed through one medium or 
another, but always the life force persists, shattering the 
form where it is inadequate, or utilising it when it suffices 
for the immediate need. 

Certain Masters and Their work. 

Under the first great group of which the Manu is the 
Head, can be found two Masters, the Master Jupiter, and 
the Master Morya. Both of Them have taken more than 
the fifth initiation, and the Master Jupiter, Who is also the 
Regent of India, is looked up to by all the Lodge of Masters 
as the oldest among Them. He dwells in the Mlgherry 
Hills in Southern India, and is not one of the Masters Who 



54 LODGE OF MASTERS 

usually takes pupils, for He numbers amongst His dis- 
ciples initiates of high degree and quite a number of Mas- 
ters. In His hands are the reins of government for India, 
including a large part of the Northern frontier, and to Him 
is committed the arduous task of eventually guiding India 
out of her present chaos and unrest, and of welding her 
diverse peoples into an ultimate synthesis. The Master 
Morya, Who is one of the best known of the Eastern adepts, 
and Who numbers amongst His pupils a large number of 
Europeans and Americans, is a Rajput Prince, and for 
many decades held an authoritative position in Indian 
affairs. 

He works in close co-operation with the Manu, and 
will Himself eventually hold office as the Manu of the sixth 
root race. He dwells, as does His Brother, the Master 
K. H., at Shigatse in the Himalayas, and is a well-known 
figure to the inhabitants of that far-away village. He is a 
man of tall and commanding presence, dark hair and beard 
and dark eyes, and might be considered stern were it not 
for the expression that lies in His eyes. He and His 
Brother, the Master K. H., work almost as a unit, and 
have done so for many centuries and will, on into the 
future, for the Master K. H. is in line for the office of 
World Teacher when the present holder of that office 
vacates it for higher work, and the sixth root race comes 
into being. The houses in which They both dwell are close 
together, and much of Their time is spent in the closest 
association. As the Master M. is upon the first ray, that 
of will or power, His work largely concerns itself with the 
carrying out of the plans of the present Manu. He acts as 
the [nspirer of the statesmen of the world, He manipulates 
forces, through the Mahachohan, that will bring about 
the conditions desired for the furthering of racial evolu- 
tion. On the physical plane those great national execu- 



LODGE OF MASTERS 55 

tives who have far vision and the international ideal are 
influenced by Him, and with Him co-operate certain of the 
great devas of the mental plane, and three great groups of 
angels work with Him on mental levels, in connection with 
the lesser devas who vitalise thought forms, and thus keep 
alive the thought forms of the Guides of the race for the 
benefit of the whole of humanity. 

The Master M. has a large body of pupils under His 
instruction, and works in connection with many organiza- 
tions of an esoteric and occult kind, as well as through the 
politicians and statesmen of the world. 

The Master Koot Humi, Who is also very well known 
in the Occident, and has many pupils everywhere, is of 
Kashmiri origin, though the family originally came from 
India. He is also an initiate of high degree, and is upon 
the second, or the Love- Wisdom Ray. He is a man of 
noble presence, and tall, though of rather slighter build 
than the Master M. He is of fair complexion, with golden- 
brown hair and beard, and eyes of a wonderful deep blue, 
through which seem to pour the love and the wisdom of 
the ages. He has had a wide experience and education, 
having been originally educated at one of the British uni- 
versities, and speaks English fluently. His reading is wide 
and extensive, and all the current books and literature in 
various languages find their way to His study in the Hima- 
layas. He concerns Himself largely with the vitalising of 
certain of the great philosophies, and interests Himself 
in a number of philanthropic agencies. To Him is 
given the work very largely of stimulating the love mani- 
festation which is latent in the hearts of all men, and of 
awakening in the consciousness of the race the perception 
of the great fundamental fact of brotherhood. 

At this particular time the Master M., the Master 
K.H. and the Master Jesus are interesting Themselves 



56 LODGE OF MASTERS 

closely with the work of unifying, as far as may be, east- 
ern and western thought, so that the great religions of 
the east, with the later development of the Christian 
faith in all its many branches, may mutually benefit each 
other. Thus eventually it is hoped one great universal 
Church may come into being. 

The Master Jesus, Who is the focal point of the en- 
ergy that flows through the various Christian churches, is 
at present living in a Syrian body, and dwells in a certain 
part of the Holy Land. He travels much and passes consid- 
erable time in various parts of Europe. He works special- 
ly with masses more than with individuals, though He has 
gathered around Him quite a numerous body of pupils. 
He is upon the sixth ray of devotion, or abstract idealism, 
and His pupils are frequently distinguished by that 
fanaticism and devotion which manifested in earlier 
Christian times amongst the martyrs. He Himself is 
rather a martial figure, a disciplinarian, and a man of iron 
rule and will. He is tall and spare with rather a long 
thin face, black hair, pale complexion and piercing 
blue eyes. His work at this time is exceedingly respon- 
sible, for to Him is given the problem of steering the 
thought of the Occident out of its present state of unrest in- 
to the peaceful waters of certitude and knowledge, and 
of preparing the way in Europe and America for the 
eventual coming of the World Teacher. He is well 
known in the Bible history, coming before us first as 
Joshua the Son of Nun, appearing again in the time of 
Ezra as Jeshua, taking the third initiation, as related in 
the book of Zechariah, as Joshua, and in the Gospel story 
Ho is knows for I wo great sacrifices, that in which He 
handed over His body for the use of the Christ, and for 
the great renunciation which is the characteristic of the 
fourth initiation. As Apollonius of Tyana, He took the 



LODGE OF MASTERS 57 

fifth initiation and became a Master of the Wisdom. From 
that time on He has stayed and worked with the Christian 
Church, fostering the germ of true spiritual life which is 
to be found amongst members of all sects and divisions, 
and neutralising as far as possible the mistakes and errors 
of the churchmen and the theologians. He is distinctively 
the Great Leader, the General, and the Avise Executive, 
and in Church matters He co-operates closely with the 
Christ, thus saving Him much and acting as His inter- 
mediary wherever possible. No one so wisely knows as He 
the problems of the West, no one is so closely in touch 
with the people who stand for all that is best in Christian 
teachings, and no one is so well aware of the need of the 
present moment. Certain great prelates of the Anglican 
and Catholic Churches are wise agents of His. 

The Master Djwal Khul, or the Master D.K as He 
is frequently called, is another adept on the second ray of 
Love- Wisdom. He is the latest of the adepts taking initia- 
tion, having taken the fifth initiation in 1875, and is there- 
fore occupying the same body in which He took the initia- 
tion, most of the other Masters having taken the fifth 
initiation whilst occupying earlier vehicles. His body is 
not a young one, and He is a Tibetan. He is very devoted 
to the Master K.H. and occupies a little house not far dis- 
tant from the larger one of the Master, and from His will- 
ingness to serve and to do anything that has to be done, He 
has been called "the Messenger of the Masters". He is 
profoundly learned, and knows more about the rays and 
planetary Hierarchies of the solar system than anyone 
else in the ranks of the Masters. He works with those 
who heal, and co-operates unknown and unseen with the 
seekers after truth in the world's great laboratories, with 
all who definitely aim at the healing and solacing of the 
world, and with the great philanthropic world movements 



58 LODGE OF MASTERS 

such as the Bed Cross. He occupies Himself with vari- 
ous pupils of different Masters who can profit by His in- 
struction, and within the last ten years has relieved both 
the Master M. and the Master K.H. of a good deal of Their 
teaching work, taking over from Them for certain stated 
times some of Their pupils and disciples. He works large- 
ly, too, with certain groups of the devas of the ethers, 
who are the healing devas, and who thus collaborate with 
Him in the work of healing some of the physical ills of 
humanity. He it was Who dictated a large part of that 
momentous book The Secret Doctrine, and Who showed 
to H. P. Blavatsky many of the pictures, and gave her 
much of the data that is to be found in that book. 

The Master Who concerns Himself especially with the 
future development of racial affairs in Europe, and with 
the mental outgrowth in America and Australia, is the 
Master Rakoczi. He is a Hungarian, and has a home in 
the Carpathian mountains, and was at one time a well- 
known figure at the Hungarian Court. Reference to Him 
can be found in old historical books, and He was par- 
ticularly before the public eye when he was the Comte de 
St. Germain, and earlier still when he was both Roger 
Bacon and later, Francis Bacon. It is interesting to note 
that as the Master R. takes hold, on the inner planes, of 
affairs in Europe, His name as Francis Bacon is coming 
before the public eye in the Bacon-Shakesperian contro- 
versy. He is rather a small, spare man, with pointed black 
beard, and smooth black hair, and does not take as many 
pupils as the Masters previously mentioned take. He is at 
present handling the majority of the third Ray pupils 
in the Occident in conjunction with the Master Hilar- 
ion. The Master R. is upon the seventh ray, that 
of ceremonial magic or order, and He works largely 
tli rough esoteric ritual and ceremonial, being vital- 



LODGE OF MASTERS 59 

ly interested in the effects, hitherto unrecognised, of the 
ceremonial of the Freemasons, of the various fraternities, 
and of the Churches everywhere. He is called in the 
Lodge, usually, "the Count", and in America and Europe 
acts practically as the general manager for the carrying 
out of the plans of the executive council of the Lodge. 
Certain of the Masters form around the three great Lords 
an inner group, and meet in council with great frequency. 

On the fifth ray of concrete knowledge or science, we 
find the Master Hilarion, who, in an earlier incarnation 
was Paul of Tarsus. He is occupying a Cretan body, but 
spends a large part of His time in Egypt. He it was Who 
gave out to the world that occult treatise "Light on the 
Path", and His work is particularly interesting to the 
general public at this crisis, for He works with those 
who are developing the intuition, and controls and 
transmutes the great movements that tend to strip the veil 
from the unseen. His is the energy which, through His 
disciples, is stimulating the Psychical Research groups 
everywhere, and He it was Who initiated, through various 
pupils of His, the Spiritualistic movement. He has under 
observation all those who are psychics of the higher or- 
der, and assists in developing their powers for the good 
of the group, and, in connection with certain of the devas 
of the astral plane, He works to open up to the seekers 
after truth, that subjective world which lies behind the 
grossly material. 

Little can be given out anent the two English Mas- 
ters. Neither of them takes pupils in the same sense that 
the Master K.H. or the Master M. take pupils. One of 
Them, who resides in Great Britain, has in hand the 
definite guidance of the Anglo-Saxon race, and He works 
upon the plans for its future development and evolution. 
He is behind the Labour movement throughout the world, 



60 LODGE OF MASTERS 

transmuting and directing, and the present rising tide of 
democracy has His directing hand upon it. Out of the 
democratic unrest, out of the present turmoil and chaos, 
will arise the future world condition which will have for 
its keynote co-operation and not competition, distribution, 
and not centralisation. 

One other Master may here be briefly mentioned, the 
Master Serapis, frequently called the Egyptian. He is the 
Master upon the fourth ray, and the great art movements 
of the world, the evolution of music, and that of painting 
and drama, receive from Him an energising impulse. At 
present He is giving most of His time and attention to 
the work of the deva, or angel evolution, until their 
agency helps to make possible the great revelation in the 
world of music and painting which lies immediately ahead. 
More about Him cannot be given out, nor can His dwelling 
place be revealed. 

The Master P. works under the Master R. in North 
America. He it is Who has had much to do esoterically 
with the various mental sciences, such as Christian 
Science, and New Thought, both of which are efforts put 
forth by ttye Lodge in an endeavour to teach men the 
reality of that which is not seen, and the power of the mind 
to create. This Master occupies an Irish body, is on the 
fourth ray, and the place of His residence may not be re- 
vealed. Much of the work of the Master Serapis was taken 
over by Him when He turned His attention to the deva 
evolution. 



The prest nf work. 

Certain facts concerning these Masters, and Their 
work in the present and in the future, may be in place 



LODGE OF MASTERS 61 

here. First, the work of training Their pupils and dis- 
ciples to fit them to be of use in two great events, one, the 
coming of the World Teacher towards the middle or close 
of this present century, and the other, the training of them 
to be of use in the founding of the new sixth sub-race and 
in the reconstruction of the present world conditions. This 
being the fifth sub-race of the fifth root-race, the pressure 
of the work on the five rays of mind which are controlled 
by the Mahachohan, is very great. The Masters are carry- 
ing an over heavy burden, and much of Their work of 
teaching disciples has been delegated to initiates and ad- 
vanced disciples, and certain of the Masters on the first 
and second Rays have temporarily taken over pupils in 
the Mahachohan's department. 

Secondly, to prepare the world on a large scale for 
the coming of the World Teacher, and to take the neces- 
sary steps before They Themselves come out among men, 
as many of Them surely will towards the close of this cen- 
tury. A special group is forming amongst Them now Who 
are definitely preparing Themselves for this work. The 
Master M., the Master K.H. and the Master Jesus will be 
specially concerned with the movement towards the last 
quarter of this century. Other Masters will participate 
also, but these three are the ones with Whose names and 
offices people should familiarise themselves, wherever pos- 
sible. Two other Masters, specially concerned with the 
seventh or ceremonial ray, Whose particular work it is to 
supervise the development of certain activities within the 
next fifteen years, work under the Master R. Very def- 
initely may the assurance be given here, that prior to the 
jC4>ming of the Christ, adjustments will be made so that at 
the head qf all great organisations will be found either a 
Master, or an initiate who has taken the third initiation. 
At the head of certain of the great occult groups, of the 



62 LODGE OF MASTERS 

Freemasons of the world, and of the various great divisions 
of the Church, and resident in many of the great nations 
will be found initiates or Masters. This work of the Mas- 
ters is proceeding now, and all Their efforts are being bent 
towards bringing it to a successful consummation. Every- 
where They are gathering in those who in any way show a 
tendency to respond to high vibration, seeking to force 
their vibration and to fit them so that they may be of use 
at the time of the coming of the Christ, Great is the day 
of opportunity, for when that time comes, through the 
stupendous strength of the vibration then brought to bear 
upon the sons of men, it will be possible for those who 
now do the necessary work to take a great step forward, 
and to pass through the portal of initiation. 



CHAPTER VII. 
THE PROBATIONARY PATH. 

Preparation for Initiation. 

The Probationary Path precedes the Path of Initia- 
tion or Holiness, and marks that period in the life of a man 
when he definitely sets himself on the side of the forces 
of evolution, and works at the building of his own char- 
acter. He takes himself in hand, cultivates the qualities 
that are lacking in his disposition, and seeks with diligence 
to bring his personality under control. He is building the 
causal body with deliberate intent, filling any gaps that 
may exist, and seeking to make it a fit receptacle for the 
Christ principle. The analogy between the pre-natal peri- 
od in the history of the human being and that of the de- 
velopment of the indwelling spirit is curiously interesting. 
We might look at it in this way : — 

1. The moment of conception, corresponding to that 
of individualisation. 

2. Nine months' gestation, corresponding to the 
wheel of life. 

3. The first initiation, corresponding to the birth 
hour. 

The Probationary Path corresponds to the latter period 
of gestation, to the building in the heart, of the babe in 
Christ. At the first initiation this babe starts on the pil- 
grimage of the Path. The first initiation stands simply 
for commencement. A certain structure of right living, 
thinking, and conduct has been built up. We call that 
form, character. It has now to be vivified and indwelt. 
Thackery has well described this process of building, in 
the words so often quoted : — 



63 



64 PROBATIONARY PATH 

"Sow a thought and reap an action ; sow an action 

and reap a habit ; sow a habit and reap character ; 

sow character and reap destiny." 
The immortal destiny of each and all of us is to attain the 
consciousness of the higher self, and subsequently that of 
the Divine Spirit. When the form is ready, when Solo- 
mon's temple has been built in the quarry of the personal 
life, then the Christ-life enters, and the glory of the Lord 
overshadows His temple. The form becomes vibrant. 
Therein lies the difference between theory and making 
that theory part of oneself. One can have a perfect image 
or picture, but it lacks life. The life can be modelled on 
the divine as far as may be; it may be an excellent copy 
but lacks the indwelling Christ principle. The germ has 
been there, but it has lain dormant. Now it is fostered 
and brought to the birth and the first initiation is attained. 

Whilst the man is on the Probationary Path he is 
taught principally to know himself, to ascertain his weak- 
nesses and to correct them. He is taught to work as an 
invisible helper at first and for several lives is generally 
kept at this kind of work. Later, as he makes progress, 
he may be moved to more selected work. He is taught the 
rudiments of the Divine Wisdom and is entered into the 
final grades in the Hall of Learning. He is known to a 
Master, and is in the care (for definite teaching) of one 
of the disciples of that Master, or, if of rare promise, of 
an initiate. 

Classes are held by initiates of the first and second 
degrees, for accepted disciples and those on probation, be- 
tween the hours of ten and five every night in all parts of 
the world, so thai the continuity of the teaching is com- 
plete. They gather in the Hall of Learning and the method 
is much the same as in (he big Universities, — classes at 
certain hours, experimental work, examinations, and a 



PKOBATIONABY PATH 65 

gradual moving up and onward as the tests are passed. A 
number of the Egos on the Probationary Path are in the 
department that is analogous to the High School; others 
have matriculated and are in the University itself. 
Graduation results when initiation is taken and the 
initiate passes into the Hall of Wisdom. 

Advanced Egos and the spiritually inclined, who are not 
yet on the Probationary Path, attend instructions from 
disciples, and on occasions large classes are conducted for 
their benefit by initiates. Their work is more rudimen- 
tary, though occult from a worldly standpoint, and they 
learn under supervision to be invisible helpers. The in- 
visible helpers are usually recruited from amongst the ad- 
vanced Egos. The very advanced, and those on the Pro- 
bationary Path and nearing initiation, work more fre- 
quently in what might be termed departmental work, form- 
ing a group of assistants to the Members of the Hierarchy. 

Methods of teaching. 

Three departments of instruction watch over three 
parts of man's development. 

First: Instruction is given tending to the discip- 
lining of the life, the growth of character, the de- 
velopment of the microcosm along cosmic lines. The 
man is taught the meaning of himself; he comes to 
know himself as a complex complete unit, a replica in 
miniature of the outer world. In learning the laws of his 
own being, comes comprehension of the Self, and a realisa- 
tion of the basic laws of the system. 

Secondly: Instruction is given as to the macrocosm, 
the amplification of his intellectual grip of the working 
of the cosmos. Information as to the kingdoms of nature, 



66 PKOBATIONAKY PATH 

teaching as to the laws of those kingdoms, and instruc- 
tion as to the working of those laws in all kingdoms and 
on all planes is given him. He acquires a deep fund of 
general knowledge, and when he reaches his own periphery- 
he is met by those who lead him on to encyclopaedic know- 
ledge. When he has attained the goal, he may not know 
every single thing that there is to be known in all the 
three worlds, but the way to know, the sources of know- 
ledge and the reservoirs of information are in his hand. 
A Master can at any time find out anything on any possi- 
ble subject without the slightest difficulty. 

Thirdly : Instruction is given in what might be termed 
synthesis. This information is only possible as the in- 
tuitional vehicle co-ordinates. It is really the occult ap- 
prehension of the law of gravitation or attraction, (the 
basic law of this, the second solar system) with all its 
corollaries. The disciple learns the meaning of occult co- 
hesion, and of that internal unity which holds the system 
as a homogeneous unit. The major part of this instruction 
is usually given after the third initiation, but a beginning 
is made early in the training. 

Masters and disciples. 

Disciples and advanced Egos on the Probationary Path 
receive instruction at this particular time for two special 
purposes : — ■ 

(a) To test out their fitness for special work lying 
in the future, the type of that work being known only to 
the Guides of the race. They are tested for aptitude in 
community living with a view to drafting the suitable ones 
into the colony of the sixth sub-race. They are tested for 
various Lines of work, many incomprehensible to us now, 
but which will become ordinary methods of development as 



PROBATIONARY PATH 67 

time progresses. The Masters also test for those in whom 
the intuition has reached a point of development that in- 
dicates a beginning of the co-ordination of the buddhic 
vehicle, or — to be exact— -has reached a point where mole- 
cules of the seventh sub-plane of the buddhic plane can 
be discerned in the aura of the Ego. When this is so They 
can go ahead with confidence in the work of instruction, 
knowing that certain imparted facts will be understood. 

(b) Instruction is being given at this time to a spe- 
cial group of people who have come into incarnation at this 
critical period of the world's history. They have come in, 
all at the same time, throughout the world, to do the work 
of linking up the two planes, the physical and astral, via 
the etheric. 

This sentence is for serious consideration, for it covers 
the work that a number of the newer generation have come 
to do. In this linking up of the two planes people are re- 
quired who are polarised in their mental bodies, ( or, if not 
polarised there, are nevertheless well rounded out and 
balanced) and can therefore work safely and with intelli- 
gence in this type of work. It necessitates primarily peo- 
ple in whose vehicles can be found a certain proportion of 
atomic sub-plane matter, so that direct communication can 
be effected between the higher and the lower via the atomic 
cross-section of the causal body. This is not easy to ex- 
plain clearly, but a consideration of the diagram in a A 
Study in Consciousness", by Mrs. Besant, page 27, may be 
helpful in explaining some matters that are apt to puzzle. 

We must recognise two things in pondering the sub- 
ject of the Masters and Their disciples. First, that in the 
Hierarchy nothing is lost through failure to recognise the 
law of economy. Every expenditure of force on the part 
of a Master or Teacher is subjected to wise foresight and 
discrimination. Just as we do not put university profes- 



68 PROBATIONAKY PATH 

sors to teach the beginners, so the Masters Themselves 
work not individually with men until they have attained a 
certain stage of evolution and are ready to profit by Their 
instruction. 

Secondly, we must remember that each of us is 
recognised by the brilliance of his light. This is an occult 
fact. The finer the grade of matter built into our bodies, 
the more brilliantly will shine forth the indwelling light. 
Light is vibration, and through the measurement of vibra- 
tion is fixed the grading of the scholars. Hence nothing 
can prevent a man's progress forward if he but attends to 
the purification of his vehicles. The light within will shine 
forth with ever greater clarity, as the refining process goes 
on, until — when atomic matter predominates — great will 
be the glory of that inner man. We are all graded, there- 
fore, if it may be so expressed, according to the magnitude 
of the light, according to the rate of vibration, according 
to the purity of the tone and the clarity of the colour. Who 
our Teacher is depends therefore upon our grading. 
Similarity of vibration holds the secret. We are frequent- 
ly told that when the demand is forceful enough the 
Teacher will appear. When we build in the right vibra- 
tions and attune ourselves to the right key, nothing can 
prevent our finding the Master. 

Groups of Egos are formed: — 

1. According to their ray. 

2. According to their sub-ray. 

3. According to their rate of vibration. 

They are also grouped for purposes of classification: 

1. As Egos, according to (he egoic ray. 

2. As personalities, according to the sub-ray 
which is governing the personality. 

All are graded and charted. The Masters have Their 
Halls of Records, with a system of tabulation incompre- 



PROBATIONARY PATH 69 

hensible to us owing to its magnitude and its necessary in- 
tricacies, wherein these charts are kept. They are under 
the care of a Chohan of a Ray, each Ray having its own 
collection of charts. These charts, being in many sec- 
tions (dealing with incarnate, discarnate, and perfected 
Egos,) are again all under the care of subordinate guard- 
ians. The Lipika Lords, with Their vast band of helpers are 
the most frequent users of these charts. Many discarnate 
egos awaiting incarnation or having just left the earth, 
sacrifice their time in heaven to assist in this work. These 
Halls of Records are mostly on the lowest levels of the 
mental plane and the highest of the astral, as they can be 
there most fully utilised and are most easily accessible. 

Initiates receive instruction directly from the Mas- 
ters or from some of the great devas or angels. These 
teachings are usually imparted at night in small classes, 
or individually (should the occasion warrant it) in the 
Master's private study. The above applies to initiates in 
incarnation or on the inner planes. If on causal levels, 
they receive instruction at any time deemed advisable di- 
rect from the Master to the Ego on causal levels. 

Disciples are taught in groups in the Master's ashram, 
or classroom, at night, if in incarnation. Apart from 
these regular gatherings, in order to receive direct teach- 
ing from the Master, a disciple (for some specific reason) 
may be called to the Master's study for a private interview. 
This occurs when a Master wishes to see a disciple for com- 
mendation, warning, or to decide if initiation is desirable. 
The major part of a disciple's tuition is left in the hands 
of some initiate or more advanced disciple, who watches 
over his younger brother, and is responsible to the Master 
for his progress, handing in regular reports. Karma is 
largely the arbiter of this relation. 

Just at present, owing to the great need in the world, 



70 PROBATIONARY PATH 

a slightly different policy is being pursued. An intensified 
training is being given to some disciples by some Masters 
Who have not hitherto taken pupils. The press of work 
on the Masters Who do take disciples being so great, They 
have delegated some of Their most promising pupils to 
some other Masters, drafting them into small groups for 
a brief period. The experiment is being tried of intensify- 
ing the teaching, and of subjecting disciples, not initiates, 
to the frequent strong vibration of a Master. It involves 
risk, but, if the experiment proves successful, will tend to 
the greater assisting of the race. 



CHAPTEK VIII. 
DISCIPLESHIP. 



A disciple described. 

A disciple is one who, above all else, is pledged to do 
three things : — 

a. To serve humanity. 

b. To co-operate with the plan of the Great Ones as 
he sees it and as best he may. 

c. To develop the powers of the Ego, to expand his 
consciousness until he can function on the three 
planes in the three worlds, and in the causal body, 
and to follow the guidance of the higher self and 
not the dictates of his three-fold lower manifesta- 
tion. 

A disciple is one who is beginning to comprehend 
group work, and to change his centre of activity from him- 
self (as the pivot around which everything revolves) to 
the group centre. 

A disciple is one who realises simultaneously the 
relative insignificance of each unit of consciousness, and 
also its vast importance. His sense of proportion is ad- 
justed, and he sees things as they are; he sees people as 
they are ; he sees himself as he inherently is and seeks then 
to become that which he is. 

A disciple realises the life or force side of nature, and 
to him the form makes no appeal. He works with force 
and through force ; he recognises himself as a force centre 
within a greater force centre, and his is the responsibility 
of directing the energy which may pour through him into 
channels through which the group can be benefitted. 

71 



72 DISCIPLESHIP 

The disciple knows himself to be — to a greater or less 
degree — an ontpost of the Master's consciousness, viewing 
the Master in a two-fold sense: — 

a. As his own egoic consciousness. 

b. As the centre of his group; the force animating 
the units of the group and binding them into a 
homogeneous whole. 

A disciple is one who is transferring his conscious- 
ness out of the personal into the impersonal, and during 
the transition stage much of difficulty and of suffering is 
necessarily endured. These difficulties arise from various 
causes : — 

a. The disciple's lower self, which rebels at being 
transmuted. 

b. A man's immediate group, friends, or family, who 
rebel at his growing impersonality. They do not 
like to be acknowledged as one with him on the 
life side, and yet separate from him where desires 
and interests lie. Yet the law holds good, and 
only in the essential life of the soul can true unity 
be cognised. In the discovery as to what is form 
lies much of sorrow for the disciple, but the road 
leads to perfect union eventually. 

The disciple is one who realises his responsibility to 
all units who come under his influence, — a responsibility 
of co-operating with the plan of evolution as it exists for 
them, and thus to expand (heir consciousness and leach 
them the difference between the real and the unreal, be- 
tween life and form. This he does most easily by a dem- 
onstration in his own life as to his goal, his object, and 
his cent re of consciousness. 



DISCIPLESHIP 73 

The work to be done: 

The disciple, therefore, has several things at which to 
aim : — 

A sensitive response to the Master's vibration. 

A practical purity of life; a purity not merely 
theoretical. 

A freedom from care. Here bear in mind that care 
is based on the personal, and is the result of lack of dis- 
passion and a too ready response to the vibrations of the 
lower worlds. 

Accomplishment of duty. This point involves the dis- 
passionate discharge of all obligations and due attention 
to karmic debts. Special emphasis should be laid, for all 
disciples, on the value of dispassion. Lack of discrimina- 
tion is not so often a hindrance to disciples these days, ow- 
ing to the development of the mind, but lack of dispassion 
frequently is. This means the attainment of that state of 
consciousness where balance is seen, and neither pleasure 
nor pain dominates, for they are superseded by joy and 
b]iss. We may well ponder on this, for much striving 
after dispassion is necessary. 

He has also to study the Kama-manasic body (desire- 
mind body). This is of very real interest, for it is, in 
many ways, the most important body in the solar system, 
where the human being in the three worlds is concerned. 
In the next system the mental vehicle of the self-conscious 
units will hold an analogous place, as the physical did in 
the previous solar system. 

He has also to work scientifically, if it may be so ex- 
pressed, at the building of the physical body. He must 
so strive that he will produce in each incarnation a body 
which will serve better as a vehicle for force. Hence there 
is nothing impractical in giving information anent 



74 DISCIPLESHIP 

initiation, as some may think. There is no moment of the 
day that that goal may not be visioned, and the work of 
preparation, carried on. One of the greatest instruments 
for practical development lying in the hands of small and 
great, is the instrument of SPEECH. He who guards his 
words, and who only speaks with altruistic purpose, in or- 
der to carry the energy of Love through the medium of the 
tongue, is one who is mastering rapidly the initial steps 
to be taken in preparation for initiation. Speech is the 
most occult manifestation in existence; it is the means of 
creation and the vehicle for force. In the reservation of 
words, esoterically understood, lies the conservation of 
force ; in the utilisation of words, justly chosen and spoken, 
lies the distribution of the love force of the solar system, — 
that force which preserves, strengthens, and stimulates. 
Only he who knows somewhat of these two aspects of 
speech can be trusted to stand before the Initiator and to 
carry out from that Presence certain sounds and secrets 
imparted to him under the pledge of silence. 

The disciple must learn to be silent in the face of that 
which is evil. He must learn to be silent before the suffer- 
ings of the world, wasting no time in idle plaints and sor- 
rowful demonstration, but lifting up the burden of the 
world; working, and wasting no energy in talk. Yet 
withal he should speak where encouragement is needed, 
using the tongue for constructive ends; expressing the 
love force of the world as it may flow through him where 
it will serve best to ease a load or lift a burden, remember- 
ing thai as the race progresses, the love element between 
the sexes and its expression will be translated to a higher 
plane. Then, through the spoken word, and not through 
the physical plane expression as now, will come the 
realisation of that true love which unites those who are 
one in serviee and in aspiration. Then love between the 



DISCIPLESHIP 75 

units of the human family will take the form of the utilisa- 
tion of speech for the purpose of creating on all planes, 
and the energy which now, in the majority, finds expres- 
sion through the lower or generating centres will be trans- 
lated to the throat centre. This is as yet but a distant 
ideal, but even now some can vision that ideal, and seek — 
through united service, loving co-operation, and oneness 
in aspiration, thought, and endeavour, — to give shape and 
form to it, even though inadequately. 



Group relationships. 

The path of the disciple is a thorny one ; briars beset 
his every step, and difficulties meet him at every turn. 
Yet in the treading of the path, in the overcoming of the 
difficulties, and in a single-hearted adherence to the good 
of the group, with a proportionate attention to the in- 
dividuals and their evolutionary development, comes at 
length fruition, and the attainment of the goal. A 
SERVER of the race stands forth. He is a server be- 
cause he has no ends of his own to serve, and from his 
lower sheaths goes out no vibration which can beguile him 
from his chosen path. He serves, because he knows what 
is in man, and because for many lives he has worked with 
individuals and with groups, gradually expanding the 
range of his endeavour until he has gathered around him 
those units of consciousness whom he can energise, and 
use, and through whom he can work out the plans of his 
superiors. Such is the goal, but the intermediate stages 
are fraught with difficulty for all who stand on the verge 
of self -disco very, and of becoming the Path itself. 
Some practical advice might be of value here: — 
Study with care the first three books of the Bhagavad 



76 DISCIPLESHIP 

Gita. The problem of Arjuna is the problem of all dis- 
ciples, and the solution is eternally the same. 

Stand ready and watch the heart. In the transferring 
of the fire from the solar plexus to the heart centre comes 
much pain. It is not easy to love as do the Great Ones, 
with a pure love which requires nothing back; with an 
inpersonal love that rejoices where there is response, but 
looks not for it, and loves steadily, quietly, and deeply 
through all apparent divergences, knowing that when each 
has found his own way home, he will find that home to be 
the place of at-one-ment. 

Be prepared for loneliness. It is the law. As a man 
dissociates himself from all that concerns his physical, 
astral and mental bodies, and centres himself in the Ego, it 
produces a temporary separation. This must be endured 
and passed, leading to a closer link at a later period with 
all associated with the disciple through the karma of past 
lives, through group work, and through the activity of the 
disciple (carried on almost unconsciously at first) in 
gathering, together those through whom later he will work. 

Cultivate happiness, knowing that depression, an 
over-morbid investigation of motive, and undue sensitive- 
ness to the criticism of others leads to a condition where- 
in a disciple is almost useless. Happiness is based on 
confidence in the God within, a just appreciation of time, 
and a forgetfulness of self. Take all the glad things which 
may come as trusts to be used to spread joy, and rebel 
not at happiness and pleasure in service, thinking it an in- 
dication thai all is not well. Suffering comes as the lower 
sell' rebels. Control that lower self, eliminate desire, and 
all is joy. 

Have patience. Endurance is one of the character- 
istics of the Ego. The K^<> persists, knowing itself im- 



DISCIPLESHIP 77 

mortal. The personality becomes discouraged, knowing 
that time is short. 

To the disciple naught occurs but what is in the plan^ 
and where the motive and sole aspiration of the heart are 
towards the carrying out of the Master's will and the 
serving of the race, that which eventuates has in it the 
seeds of the next enterprise, and embodies the environ- 
ment of the next step forward. Herein lies much of clari- 
fication, and herein may be found that on which the dis- 
ciple may rest when the vision is clouded, the vibration 
lower than perhaps it should be, and the judgment fogged 
by the miasmas arising from circumstances on the physical 
plane. With many, much arises in the astral body that 
is based on old vibration and has no foundation in fact, 
and the battleground is so to control the astral situation 
that out of present anxieties and worries may grow con- 
fidence and peace, and out of violent action and inter- 
action there may be elaborated tranquility. 

It is possible to reach a point where naught that oc- 
curs can ruffle the inner calm; where the peace that 
passeth understanding is known and experienced, because 
the consciousness is centred in the Ego, who is peace itself, 
being the circle of the buddhic life; where poise itself is 
known and felt, and equilibrium reigns because the centre 
of the life is in the Ego, who is — in essence — balance; 
where calm rules unruffled and unshaken, because the di- 
vine Knower holds the reins of government, and permits 
no disturbance from the lower self; where bliss itself is 
reached that is based, not on circumstances in the three 
worlds, but on that inner realisation of existence apart 
from the not-self, an existence that persists when time and 
space and all that is contained therein, are not; that is 
known when all the illusions of the lower planes are ex- 
perienced, passed through, transmuted and transcended; 



78 DISCIPLESHIP 

that endures when the little world of human endeavour 
has dissipated and gone, being seen as naught ; and that is 
based on the knowledge that I AM THAT. 

Such an attitude and experience is for all those who 
persist in their high endeavour, who count all things but 
naught if they may but achieve the goal, and who steer a 
steady course through circumstances, keeping the eyes 
fixed upon the vision ahead, the ears attentive to the Voice 
of the God within, that sounds in the silence of the heart ; 
the feet firmly placed on the path that leads to the portal 
of initiation ; the hands held out in assistance to the world, 
and the whole life subordinated to the call of service. Then 
all that comes is for the best — sickness, opportunity, suc- 
cess, and disappointment, the gibes and machinations of 
enemies, the lack of comprehension on the part of those 
we love — all is but to be used, and all exists but to be trans- 
muted. Continuity of vision, of aspiration, and of the in- 
ner touch, is seen to be of more importance than them all. 
That continuity is the thing to be aimed at, in spite of, and 
not because of circumstances. 

As the aspirant progresses he not only balances the 
pairs of opposites, but is having the secret of his brother's 
heart revealed to him. He becomes an acknowledged force 
in the world and is recognised as one who can be depended 
upon to serve. Men turn to him for assistance and help 
along his recognised line, and he begins to sound forth his 
note so as to be heard in deva and human ranks. This he 
does — at this stage — through the pen in literature, through 
the spoken word in lecturing and teaching, through music, 
p ainting and art. He reaches the hearts of men in some 
way or another, and becomes a helper and server of his 
race. Two more characteristics of this stage might here 
be mentioned : — 

The aspirant lias an appreciation of the occult value 



DISCIPLESHIP 79 

of money in service. He seeks nothing for himself, save 
that which may equip him for the work to be done, and 
he looks upon money and that which money can purchase 
as something which is to be used for others and as a means 
to bring about the fruition of the Master's plans as he 
senses those plans. The occult significance of money is 
little appreciated, yet one of the greatest tests as to the 
position of a man upon the Probationary Path is that 
which concerns his attitude to and his handling of that 
which all men seek in order to gratify desire. Only he 
who desires naught for himself can be a recipient of finan- 
cial bounty, and a dispenser of the riches of the universe. 
In other cases where riches increase they bring with them 
naught but sorrow and distress, discontent, and misuse. 

At this stage also the aspirant's life becomes an in- 
strument of destruction in the occult sense of the term. 
Wherever he goes the force which flows through him 
from the higher planes and his own inner God produces at 
times peculiar results upon his environment. It acts as a 
stimulator of both the good and the evil. The lunar Pitris, 
or little lives which form the bodies of his brother and his 
own body, are likewise stimulated, their activity is in- 
creased and their power greatly aggravated. This fact is 
used by Those Who work on the inner side to bring about 
certain desired ends. This it is also which often causes 
the temporary downfall of advanced souls. They cannot 
stand the force pouring into them, or upon them, and 
through the temporary over-stimulation of their centres 
and vehicles they go to pieces. This can be seen working 
out in groups as well as in individuals. But, inversely, if 
the lunar Lords, or lives of the lower self, have been earlier 
subjugated and brought under control, then the effect of 
the force and energy contacted is to stimulate the response 
of the physical brain consciousness and the head centres 



80 DISCIPLESHIP 

to egoic contact. Then the otherwise destructive force 
becomes a factor for good and a helpful stimulation, and 
can be used by Those Who know how, to lead men on to 
further illumination. 

All these steps have to work out on all the three lower 
planes, and in the three bodies, and this they do according 
to the particular ray and sub-ray. In this fashion is the 
work of the disciple carried forward, and his testing and 
training carried out. Thus is he brought — through right 
direction of energy and wise manipulation of force cur- 
rents — to the Portal of Initiation, and he graduates from 
the Hall of Learning into the Hall of Wisdom, that 
Hall wherein he gradually becomes 'aware' of forces and 
powers latent in his own Ego and egoic group, wherein 
the force of the egoic group is his for the using, for he can 
now be trusted to wield it only for the helping of humanity, 
and wherein — after the fourth initiation — he becomes a 
sharer in, and can be trusted with, some part of the energy 
of the Planetary Logos, and thus be enabled to carry for- 
ward the plans of that Logos for evolution. 

It would be well to remember that disciples on the 
first ray understand discipleship largely in terms of en- 
ergy, or force, or activity, whilst disciples on the second 
ray understand it more in terms of consciousness or initia- 
tion. Hence the divergence of expressions in ordinary use, 
and the lack of comprehension among thinkers. It might 
prove useful to express the idea of discipleship in terms 
of the different rays — meaning by this, discipleship as it 
manifests on the physical plane in service : 

1st Ray. .Force Energy Action The Occultist. 

2nd Ray. .Consciousness. Expansion initiation The true Psychic. 

3rd Ray. .Adaptation Development. . Evolution The Magician. 

4th Ray. Vibration Response Expression The Artist. 

5th Ray. Mentation Knowledge Science The Scientist. 

6th Ray. Devotion Abstraction. . . idealism The Devotee. 

7th Ray. Magic Incantation Ritual The Ritualist. 



DISCIPLESHIP 81 

Eemember carefully that we are here dealing with 
disciples. Later on as they progress, the various lines ap- 
proximate and merge. All have been at one time 
magicians, for all have passed upon the third ray. The 
problem now is concerned with the mystic and the occul- 
tist, and their eventual synthesis. A careful study of the 
foregoing will lead to the realisation that the difficulties 
between thinkers, and between disciples of all groups, con- 
sist in their identifying themselves with some form, and 
in their inability to understand the different points of 
view of others. As time elapses, and they are brought into 
closer relationship with the two Masters with whom they 
are concerned (their own inner God and their personal 
Master), the inability to co-operate and to merge their in- 
terests in the good of the group will pass away, and com- 
munity of endeavour, similarity of object, and mutual co- 
operation will take the place of what is now so much seen, 
divergence. We might well ponder on this, for it holds the 
key to much that is puzzling and, to many, distressing. 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE PATH OP INITIATION. 



After a longer or shorter period of time the disciple 
stands at the portal of initiation. We must remember 
that as one approaches this portal and draws nearer to the 
Master it is, as says "Light on the Path", with the feet 
bathed in the blood of the heart. Each step np is ever 
through the sacrifice of all that the heart holds dear on 
one plane or another, and always must this sacrifice be 
voluntary. He who treads the Probationary Path and the 
Path of Holiness is he who has counted the cost, whose 
sense of values has been readjusted, and who therefore 
judges not as judges the man of the world. He is the man 
who is attempting to take the "kingdom by violence", and 
in the attempt is prepared for the consequent suffering. 
He is the man who counts all things but loss if he may but 
win the goal, and who, in the struggle for the mastery of 
the lower self by the higher, is willing to sacrifice even unto 
death. 

The first two initiations. 

At the first initiation, the control of the Ego over the 
physical body must have reached a high degree of attain- 
ment. "The sins of the flesh", as the Christian phrase- 
ology has it, must be dominated; gluttony, drink, and 
licentiousness must no longer hold sway. The physical 
elemental will no longer find its demand obeyed; the con- 
trol must be complete and the lure departed. A general 
attitude of obedience to the Ego must have been achieved, 
and the willingness to obey must be very strong. The chan- 

82 



PATH OF INITIATION 83 

nel between the higher and the lower is widened, and the 
obedience of the flesh practically automatic. 

That all initiates measure not up to this standard may 
be ascribed to several things, but the note they sound 
should be on the side of righteousness ; the recognition of 
their own shortcomings which they will evidence will be 
sincere and public, and their struggle to conform to the 
highest standard will be known, even though perfection 
may not be achieved. Initiates may, and do, fall, and there- 
by incur the working of the law in punishment. They may, 
and do, by this fall injure the group, and thereby incur the 
karma of readjustment, having to expiate the injury 
through later prolonged service, wherein the group mem- 
bers themselves, even though unconsciously, apply the law ; 
their progress will be seriously hindered, much time being 
lost in which they must work out the karma with the in- 
jured units. The very fact that a man is an initiate, and 
therefore the medium for force of a greatly increased kind, 
makes his lapses from the straight path to have more 
powerful effects than is the case with a less advanced man ; 
his retribution and punishment will be equally greater. 
Inevitably he must pay the price before he is allowed to 
proceed further upon the Way. As for the group he in- 
jures, what should their attitude be? A recognition of the 
gravity of the error, a wise acceptance of the facts in the 
case, a refrain from unbrotherly criticism, and a pouring 
out of love upon the sinning brother: — all this, coupled 
with such action as will make clear to the onlooking gen- 
eral public that such sins and infringements of the law 
are not condoned. To this must be added an attitude of 
mind within the group concerned which will lead them 
(whilst taking firm action) to help the mistaken brother 
to see his error, to work out the retributive karma, and 



84 PATH OF INITIATION 

then to reinstate him in their regard and respect when 
due amends have been made. 

All people do not develop exactly along the same or 
parallel lines, and therefore no hard or fast rules can be 
laid down as to the exact procedure at each initiation, or 
as to just what centres are to be vivified, or what vision 
is to be accorded. So much depends upon the ray of the 
disciple, or his development in any particular direction 
(people do not usually develop evenly), upon his in- 
dividual karma, and also upon the exigencies of any spe- 
cial period. This much can be suggested, however: At 
the first initiation, that of the birth of the Christ, the heart 
centre is the one usually vivified, with the aim in view of 
the more effective controlling of the astral vehicle, and 
the rendering of greater service to humanity. After this 
initiation the initiate is taught principally the facts of the 
astral plane; he has to stabilise his emotional vehicle and 
learn to work on the astral plane with the same facility 
and ease as he does on the physical plane ; he is brought in 
contact with the astral devas; he learns to control the 
astral elementals; he must function with facility on the 
lower sub-planes, and the value and quality of his work 
on the physical plane becomes of increased worth. He 
passes, at this initiation, out of the Hall of Learning into 
the Hall of Wisdom. At this time, emphasis is consistent- 
ly laid on his astral development, although his mental 
equipment groAvs steadily. 

Many lives may intervene between the first initiation 
and the second. A long period of many incarnations may 
elapse before the control of the astral body is perfected, 
and the initiate is ready for the next step. The analogy 
is kept in an in (cresting way in the New Testament in the 
life of the initiate -Jesus. Many years elapsed between the 
Birth and the Baptism, but the remaining three steps were 



PATH OF INITIATION 85 

taken in three years. Once the second initiation is taken 
the progress will be rapid, the third and fourth following 
probably in the same life, or the supervening. 

The second initiation forms the crisis in the control 
of the astral body. Just as, at the first initiation, the 
control of the dense physical has been demonstrated, so 
here the control of the astral is similarly demonstrated. 
The sacrifice and death of desire has been the goal of 
endeavour. Desire itself has been dominated by the Ego, 
and only that is longed for, which is for the good of the 
whole, and in the line of the will of the Ego, and of the 
Master. The astral elemental is controlled, the emotional | 
body becomes pure and limpid, and the lower nature is J 
rapidly dying. At this time the Ego grips afresh the two 
lower vehicles and bends them to his will. The aspiration 
and longing to serve, love, and progress become so strong 
that rapid development is usually to be seen. This ac- 
counts for the fact that this initiation, and the third, fre- 
quently (though not invariably) follow each other in one 
single life. At this period of the world's history such 
stimulus has been given to evolution that aspiring souls — 
sensing the dire and crying need of humanity — are sacri- 
ficing all in order to meet that need. 

Again, we must not make the mistake of thinking that 
all this follows in the same invariable consecutive steps 
and stages. Much is done in simultaneous unison, for the 
labour to control is slow and hard, but in the interim be- 
tween the first three initiations some definite point in the 
evolution of each of the three lower vehicles has to be 
attained and held, before the further expansion of the 
channel can be safely permitted. Many of us are work- 
ing on all the three bodies now, as we tread the Probation- 
ary Path. 

At this initiation, should the ordinary course be fol- 



8(S PATH OF INITIATION 

lowed, (which again is not at all certain) the throat centre 
is vivified. This causes a capacity to turn to account in 
the Master's service, and for the helping of man, the at- 
tainments of the lower mind. It imparts the ability to give 
forth and utter that which is helpful, possibly in the 
spoken word, but surely in service of some kind. A vision 
is accorded of the world's need, and a further portion of 
the plan shewn. The work, then, to be done prior to the 
taking of the third initiation, is the complete submerging 
of the personal point of view in the need of the whole. It 
entails the complete domination of the concrete mind by 
the Ego. 

The succeeding two initiations. 

After the second initiation the teaching shifts up a 
plane. The initiate learns to control his mental vehicle; 
he develops the capacity to manipulate thought matter, 
and learns the laws of creative thought building. He 
functions freely on the four lower sub-planes of the mental 
plane, and before the third initiation he must, — conscious- 
ly or unconsciously, — be complete master of the four low- 
er sub-planes in the three planes of the three worlds. His 
knowledge of the microcosm becomes profound, and he has 
mastered theoretically and practically, in great measure, 
the laws of his own nature, hence his ability experiment- 
ally to be master on the four lower sub-planes of the phys- 
ical, astral, and mental planes. The last fact is of inter- 
rst. The control of the three higher sub-planes is not yet 
complete, and here is one of the explanations as to the 
failures and mistakes of initiates. Their mastery of mat- 
ter in the three higher sub-planes is not yet perfect; these 
vet remain to be dominated. 

At the third initiation, termed sometimes the Trans- 



PATH OF INITIATION 87 

figuration, the entire personality is flooded with light from 
above. It is only after this initiation that the Monad is 
definitely guiding the Ego, pouring His divine life ever 
more into the prepared and cleansed channel, just as in 
the third, or moon chain, the Ego individualised the per- 
sonality through direct contact, a method different to the 
individualisation as shown in this fourth chain. The law 
of correspondences, if applied here, might prove very re- 
vealing, and might demonstrate an interesting analogy be- 
tween the methods of individualising in the various chains, 
and the expansions of consciousness that occur at the dif- 
ferent initiations. 

Again, a vision is accorded of what lies ahead; the 
initiate is in a position at all times to recognise the other 
members of the Great White Lodge, and his psychic facul- 
ties are stimulated by the vivification of the head centres. 
It is not necessary nor advisable to develop the synthetic 
faculties, or clairaudience and clairvoyance, until after 
this initiation. The aim of all development is the awaken- 
ing of the spiritual intuition; when this has been done, 
when the physical body is pure, the astral stable and 
steady, and the mental body controlled, then the initiate 
can safely wield and wisely use the psychic faculties for 
the helping of the race. Not only can he use these facul- 
ties, but he is able now to create and vivify thought-forms 
that are clear and well-defined, pulsating with the spirit of 
service and not controlled by lower mind or desire. These 
thought-forms will not be ( as is the case with those created 
by the mass of men) disjointed, unconnected, and uncor- 
rected, but will attain a fair measure of synthesis. Hard 
and ceaseless must the work be before this can be done, 
but when the desire nature has been stabilised and purified, 
then the control of the mind-body comes more easily. 
Hence the path of the devotee is easier in some ways than 



88 PATH OF INITIATION 

that of the intellectual man, for he has learnt the measure 
of purified desire, and progresses by the requisite stages. 

The personality has now reached a point where its 
vibrations are of a very high order, the matter in all three 
bodies relatively pure, and its apprehension of the work 
to be done in the microcosm, and the share to be taken in 
the work of the macrocosm is very advanced. It is appar- 
ent, therefore, why it is only at the third initiation that the 
great Hierophant, the Lord of the World, Himself offi- 
ciates. It is the first at which He contacts the initiate. 
Earlier it would not be possible. For the first two initia- 
tions the Hierophant is the Christ, the World-Teacher, the 
Firstborn among many brethren, one of the earliest of our 
humanity to take initiation. Browning brings out this 
thought most beautifully in the words found in his poem 
"Saul" :— 

It shall be 

A face like my face that receives thee ; a Man 

like to me, 

Thou shalt love and be loved by, forever ; 

A Hand like this hand 

Shall throw open the gates of new life to thee ! 
See the Christ stand! 
But when the initiate has made still further progress, 
and has taken two initiations, a change comes. The Lord 
of the World, the Ancient of Days, the ineffable Ruler 
Himself administers the third initiation. Why has this 
become possible? Because now the fully consecrated 
physical body can safely bear the vibrations of the two 
other bodies when they return to its shelter from the Pres- 
ence of the KING; because now the purified astral and 
controlled mental can safely stand before that KING. 
When purified and controlled they stand and for the first 
time consciously vibrate to the Ray of the Monad, then 



PATH OF INITIATION 89 

with prepared bodies can the ability to see and hear on 
all the planes be granted and achieved, and the faculty of 
reading and comprehending the records be safely employ- 
ed, for with fuller knowledge comes added power. The 
heart is now sufficiently pure and loving, and the intellect 
sufficiently stable to stand the strain of knowing. 

Before the fourth initiation can be taken, the work 
of training is intensified, and the hastening and accumula- 
tion of knowledge has to be unbelievably rapid. The ini- 
tiate has frequent access to the library of occult books, and 
after this initiation he can not only contact the Master 
with Whom he is linked and with Whom he has worked 
consciously for a long time, but he can contact and assist 
(in measure) the Chohans, the Boddhisattva, and the 
Manu. 

He has also to grasp the laws of the three lower 
planes intellectually, and likewise wield them for the aid- 
ing of the scheme of evolution. He studies the cosmic 
plans and has to master the charts ; he becomes versed in 
occult technicalities and develops fourth dimensional 
vision, if he has not already done so. He learns to direct 
the activities of the building devas, and at the same time, 
he works continually at the development of his spiritual 
nature. He begins rapidly to co-ordinate the buddhic vehi- 
cle, and in its co-ordination he develops the power of syn- 
thesis, at first in small measure, and gradually in fuller de- 
tail. 

By the time the fourth initiation is taken the initiate 
has mastered perfectly the fifth sub-plane, and is therefore 
adept, — to use a technical phrase, — on the five lower sub- 
planes of the physical, astral, and mental planes, and is 
well on the way to master the sixth. His buddhic vehicle 
can function on the two lower sub-planes of the buddhic 
plane. 



90 PATH OF INITIATION 

The life of the man who takes the fourth initiation, or 
the Crucifixion, is usually one of great sacrifice and suffer- 
ing*. It is the life of the man who makes the Great Kenun- 
ciation, and even exoterically it is seen to be strenuous, 
hard, and painful. He has laid all, even his perfected per- 
sonality, upon the altar of sacrifice, and stands bereft of 
all. All is renounced, friends, money, reputation, char- 
acter, standing in the world, family, and even life itself. 

The final initiations. 

After the fourth initiation not much remains to be 
done. The domination of the sixth sub-plane goes forward 
with rapidity, and the matter of the higher sub-planes of 
the buddhic is co-ordinated. The initiate is admitted into 
closer fellowship in the Lodge, and his contact with the 
devas is more complete. He is rapidly -exhausting the re- 
sources of the Hall of Wisdom, and is mastering the most 
intricate plans and charts. He becomes adept in the 
significance of colour and sound, can wield the law in the 
three worlds, and can contact his Monad with more free- 
dom than the majority of the human race can contact their 
Egos. He is in charge, also, of large work, teaching many 
pupils, aiding in many schemes, and is gathering under 
him those who are to assist him in future times. This re- 
fers only to those who stay to help humanity on this globe ; 
we will deal later with spme of the lines of work that 
stretch before the Adept if He passes away from earth 
service. 

After the fifth initiation the man is perfected as fai- 
ns i his scheme goes, though he may, if he will, take two 
farther initiations. 

To achieve the sixth initial ion the Adopt has to take 
a very intensive course in planetary occultism. A Master 
wields the law in the throe worlds, whilst a Chohan of the 



PATH OF INITIATION 91 

sixth initiation wields the law in the chain on all levels; 
a Chohan of the seventh initiation wields the law in the 
solar system. 

It will be apparent that, should he search these sub- 
jects with application, the student will find much that 
concerns him personally, even though the ceremony itself 
may be far ahead. By the study of the process and the 
purpose he may become aware of the great fundamental 
fact that the method of initiation is the method of : — 

a. Force realisation. 

b. Force application. 

c. Force utilisation. 

The initiate of every degree, from the humble initiate 
of the first degree, making for the first time his contact 
with a certain type of specialised force, up to the emanci- 
pated buddha of the seventh degree, is dealing with energy 
of some kind or other. The stages of development of the 
aspirant might be expressed as follows : — 

1. He has to become aware, through discrimination, 
of the energy or force of his own lower self. 

2. He has to impose upon that energetic rhythm one 
that is higher, until that lower rhythm is super- 
seded by the higher, and the old method of ex- 
pressing energy dies out entirely. 

3. He then is permitted, by gradually expanding 
realisations, to contact and — under guidance — to 
employ certain forms of group energy, until the 
time comes when he is in a position scientifically 
to wield planetary force. The length of time tak- 
en over this final stage is entirely dependent upon 
the progress he makes in the service of his race 
and in the development of those powers of the 
soul which are the natural sequence of spiritual 
unfoldment. 



92 PATH OF INITIATION 

The application of the Rod of Initiation at the first 
two initiations by the Boddhisattva enables the initiate to 
control and utilise the force of the lower self, the true 
sanctified energy of the personality in service ; at the third 
initiation the application of the Rod by the One Initiator 
makes available in a vastly more extensive manner the 
force of the higher self or Ego, and brings into play on the 
physical plane the entire energy stored up during numer- 
ous incarnations in the causal vehicle. At the fourth ini- 
tiation the energy of his egoic group becomes his to use 
for the good of planetary evolution, and at the fifth initia- 
tion the force or energy of the planet (esoterically under- 
stood, and not merely the force or energy of the material 
globe) is at his disposal. During these five initiations those 
two great beings, the Boddhisattva first, and then the One 
Initiator, the Lord of the World, Sanat Kumara, are the 
administrators or hierophants. After these ceremonies, 
should the initiate choose to take the two final initia- 
tions which it is possible to take in this solar system, a still 
higher type of energy in expression of the One Self comes 
into play, and can only be hinted at. At the seventh initia- 
tion that One of Whom Sanat Kumara is the manifesta- 
tion, the Logos of our scheme on His own plane, becomes 
the Hierophant. At the sixth initiation the expression 
of this Existence on an intermediate plane, a Being Who 
must at present remain nameless, wields the Rod and ad- 
ministers the oath and secret. In these three expressions 
of hierarchical government — Sanat Kumara on the peri- 
phery of the three worlds, the Nameless One on the con- 
fines of the high planes of human evolution, and the plane- 
tary Spirit himself at the final stage — we have the three 
great manifestations of the Planetary Logos Himself. 
Through the Planetary Logos at the final great initiation 
Hows the power of the Solar Logos, and He it is Who re- 



PATH OF INITIATION 93 

veals to the initiate that the Absolute is consciousness in 
its fullest expression, though at the stage of human exist- 
ence the Absolute must be regarded as unconsciousness. 

Each of the great initiations is but the synthesis of 
the smaller ones, and only as man seeks ever to expand his 
consciousness in the affairs of daily life can he expect to 
achieve those later stages which are but culminations of 
the many earlier. Students must get rid of the idea that 
if they are "very good and altruistic" suddenly some day 
they will stand before the Great Lord. They are putting 
effect before cause. Goodness and altruism grow out of 
realisation and service, and holiness of character is the 
outcome of those expansions of consciousness which a man 
brings about within himself through strenuous effort and 
endeavour. Therefore it is here and now that man can pre- 
pare himself for initiation, and this he does, not by dwell- 
ing upon the ceremonial aspect, as so many do in excited 
anticipation, but by working systematically and enduring- 
ly at the steady development of the mental body, by the 
strenuous and arduous process of controlling the astral 
body so that it becomes responsive to three vibrations : — 

a. That from the Ego. 

b. That from the Master. 

c. Those from his brothers everywhere around him. 
He becomes sensitive to the voice of his higher self, thus 
working off karma under the intelligent guidance of his 
own Ego. He becomes conscious, via the Ego, of the vibra- 
tion emanating from his Master; he learns to feel it ever 
more and more, and to respond to it ever more fully ; final- 
ly, he becomes increasingly sensitive to the joys and pains 
and sorrows of those he daily contacts ; he feels them to be 
his joys and pains and sorrows, and yet he is not incapaci- 
tated thereby. 



CHAPTER X. 
THE UNIVERSALITY OF INITIATION. 



It has been emphasised many times in the occult teach- 
ings that the process of initiation, as it is usually under- 
stood, is an abnormal and not a normal one. All progres- 
sion in the realm of consciousness is naturally by a graded 
series of awakenings, but this would proceed much more 
gradually and cover a longer period of time than is the 
case under our present planetary conditions. This par- 
ticular mode of developing the consciousness of the human 
family was initiated by the Hierarchy during the Atlan- 
tean root race at the latter end of the fourth sub-race, and 
will persist until the middle of the next round. At that 
time the needed stimulus will have been imparted, and as 
three-fifths of the human family will then have esoterically 
"set their feet upon the path", and a large percentage of 
them will then be in process of becoming the Path itself, 
the more normal routine will again be resumed. 

Initiation on the various planets. 

The process of stimulation of the human Egos by 
means of graded instructions, and the application of the 
dynamic electrical force of the Rod is employed on three 
of the planets of our system at this time. It is instituted 
during every fourth round, and its peculiar interest lies 
in the fact that the emphasis for the fourth Creative Hier- 
archy in every fourth elm in and globe during the fourth 
round is laid upon the fourth initiation, that of the cruci- 
fixion. The fourth Creative Hierarchy is the great expres- 
sion of the conscious will and sacrifice 4 of the Solar Logos, 



94 



UNIVERSALITY OF INITIATION 95 

and the great symbol of the intelligent union of spirit and 
matter. Hence the fourth initiation, with its presentation 
of these cosmic truths, and its epitomising of the purpose 
of this fundamental sacrifice, has a pre-eminent place. 

The student needs to remind himself that the other 
planetary schemes, though fundamentally the same as our 
fourth scheme, yet have their profound differences in mani- 
festation, due to the varying characteristics and the indi- 
vidual karma of the incarnating Planetary Logos or Ray. 
These differences affect : — 

a. The initiatory process, both in its ceremonial and 
altruistic aspects. 

b. The application of the Rod, for the type of force 
which it embodies, when brought into conjunction 
with the differentiated force of the planetary 
type, produces results of varying nature and de- 
gree. 

c. The seasons of initiation. The Egos in incarna- 
tion on any planet will — according to ray type — 
be easily stimulated or not as the case may be, 
according to astrological conditions, and this will 
produce shorter or more protracted periods of de- 
velopment prior to or between each initiation. 

d. The electrical phenomena produced on the higher 
planes, as more and more the human units esoter- 
ically "blaze forth." It must be remembered that 
the entire solar system, with all that is included 
therein, is expressing itself in terms of light, and 
that the process of initiation might therefore be 
regarded as one in which the different points of 
light (or human sparks) are stimulated, their 
radiance and temperature increased, and the 
sphere of influence of each light extended in 
radius. 



96 UNIVERSALITY OF INITIATION 

The three planetary schemes wherein the great experi- 
ment of initiation is being tried are the Earth, Venus, and 
one other. Venus was the first sphere of experiment, and 
the success of the endeavour and the force generated was 
the cause of a similar effort being made on our planet. 
No planet increases its store of force, and consequently its 
sphere of influence, without incurring obligations and af- 
fecting other schemes ; the interchange of force and energy 
between these two planets, Earth and Venus, is continu- 
ous. A similar process has but lately been instituted on 
another planetary scheme, and when, in the next round, 
our Earth attains a point in evolution analogous to that 
of the Venusian scheme at the time its influence is felt by 
us, then we shall aid in the stimulation of still another 
group of planetary Egos ; we shall assist in the institution 
of a similar procedure among the sons of men in another 
scheme. 

In the three great planetary schemes, Neptune, 
Uranus, and Saturn, the method of initiation will not be 
employed. They will be the recipients of those who are 
esoterically "saved" from among the other schemes. That 
is to say that all those who, in any scheme, achieve the 
needed expansions of consciousness (such as will be 
achieved by the majority of the human family prior to the 
middle of the next great cycle, or round), will be con- 
sidered "saved", whilst the remainder will be held to be 
failures, and will be held over for further development dur- 
ing later periods, or will be transferred to those planetary 
schemes which from the point of view of time are not so 
far advanced as our Earth scheme. These three major 
schemes are the absorbers and synthesisers of the energy of 
the others. 



UNIVERSALITY OF INITIATION 97 

Initiation and the Devas. 

The question may be asked whether the devas undergo 
initiation, and we might deal briefly with the point here. 

Initiation has to do with the conscious development 
of the self, and concerns the wisdom aspect of the One 
Self. It presupposes the development of the intelligence 
principle, and involves the apprehension by the human 
unit of purpose and of will, and his intelligent participa- 
tion therein through love and service. The devas, with 
the exception of those greater devas who have in earlier 
cycles passed through the human kingdom and are now 
co-operating in the evolution of man, are not as yet self- 
conscious. They grow and develop through feeling and 
not through the power of conscious thought. Man there- 
fore grows through expansions of self-conscious realisa- 
tion, self -initiated and self-imposed. It is the line of as- 
piration and of conscious endeavour, and is the most diffi- 
cult line of development in the solar system, for it follows 
not along the line of least resistance, but seeks to initiate 
and impose a higher rhythm. The devas follow the line 
of least resistance, and seek to appropriate and experience 
in fullest tide of feeling and sentiency the vibration of 
things as they are. Therefore the method for them is an 
ever-increasing intensity of appreciation for the feeling of 
the moment, and not, as in man, an ever increasing de- 
preciation of things as they are, or of the material aspect, 
which leads to an endeavour to reach out and enfold with- 
in his consciousness the subjective reality, or the things 
of the spirit — this in contradistinction to the objective un- 
reality, or the things of matter. The devas seek to feel, 
whilst man seeks to know. For the former, then, those 
expansions of consciousness which we call Initiation exist 
not, except in the cases of those advanced beings who, hav- 



98 UNIVERSALITY OF INITIATION 

ing passed through the human stage, both feel and know, 
and who, under the evolutionary law, expand their know- 
ledge in ever-increasing degree. 

Cosmic influences and solar initiations. 

All that can be done here in dealing with this pro- 
found subject is to enumerate briefly some of the cosmic 
influences which definitely affect our earth, and produce 
results in the consciousness of men everywhere, and which, 
during the process of initiation, bring about certain spe- 
cific phenomena. 

First and foremost is the energy or force emanating 
from the sun Sirius. If it might be so expressed, the en- 
ergy of thought, or mind force, in its totality, reaches the 
solar system from a distant cosmic centre via Sirius. 
Sirius acts as the transmitter, or the focalising centre, 
whence emanate those influences which produce self- 
consciousness in man. During initiation, by means 
of the Rod of Initiation (acting as a subsidiary transmit- 
ter and as a powerful magnet) this energy is momen- 
tarily intensified, and applied to the centres of the initiate 
with terrific force ; were it not that the Hierophant and the 
two sponsors of the initiate pass it primarily through their 
bodies, it would be more than he could stand. This in- 
crease of mind energy results in an expansion and an ap- 
prehension of the truth as it is, and is lasting in its effects. 
It is felt primarily in the throat centre, the great organ of 
(rent ion through sound. 

Another type of energy readies man from the 
Pleiades, passing through the Venushm scheme to us, just 
as the Sirian energy passes through the Saturnian. It 
has a definite effect upon the causal body, and serves to 
stimulate the heart centre. 



UNIVERSALITY OF INITIATION 99 

A third type of energy is applied to the initiate, and 
affects his head centre. It emanates from that one of the 
seven stars of the Great Bear whose ensouling life holds 
the same relationship to a Planetary Logos as the Ego 
does to a human being. This energy, therefore, is seven- 
fold, and differs according to a man's ray or type. 

It is not possible here to state the order of the applica- 
tion of these varying types of energy, nor to give the initia- 
tion during which the man contacts the different types. 
These facts involve the secrets of the mysteries, and no 
purpose is served by revealing them. Other types of force 
from certain of the planetary schemes, as well as from cos- 
mic centres, are brought into play by the Initiator and 
transmitted through the medium of the Eod to the various 
centres in the initiate's three vehicles, the mental, the as- 
tral, and the etheric centres. At the fourth initiation a 
specialised type of force from a centre which must remain 
nameless is applied to a man's causal body, and is one of 
the causes of its final disintegration. 

In thinking of this matter of the attainment of the 
sons of men, we must recognise that as mankind completes 
one unification after another, the "Heavenly Men" on in- 
tuitional levels and on spiritual levels are completed, and 
in their turn go to the formation of the centres in the great 
"Heavenly Men" of the solar system. These seven Heaven- 
ly Men, in Whose bodies each human Monad and each deva 
finds his place, form the seven centres in the body of the 
Logos. He, in His turn, forms the Heart centre (for God 
is Love) of a still greater Entity. The consummation of 
all for this solar system will be when the Logos takes His 
fifth initiation. When all the sons of men attain the fifth 
initiation, He achieves. This is a great mystery and in- 
comprehensible to us. 



CHAPTER XL 
THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE MYSTERIES. 



The participants in the mysteries are generally 
known, and no secret has been made of the general per- 
sonnel and procedure. It is only sought here to impart a 
greater sense of reality to the data already given by a 
fuller exposition and a more pointed reference to the parts 
played by such during the ceremony. At this stage the 
student would be wise to bear in mind three things as he 
ponders upon the mysteries touched upon here: — 

That care must be taken to interpret all here given in 
terms of spirit and not of matter or form. We are dealing 
entirely with the subjective or consciousness aspect of 
manifestation, and with that which lies back of the objec- 
tive form. This realisation will save the student from 
much later confusion. 

That we are considering facts which are substantial 
and real on the mental plane — the plane on which all the 
major initiations take place — but which are not materia- 
lised on the physical plane, and are not physical plane 
phenomena. The link between the two planes exists in the 
continuity of consciousness which the initiate will have de- 
veloped, and which will enable him to bring through to 
the physical brain, occurrences and happenings upon the 
subjective planes of life. Corroboration of these occur- 
rences, and proof of the accuracy of the transmitted know- 
ledge will demonstrate as follows : — 

In and through the etheric centres. These centres 
will be greatly stimulated, and will, through their in- 
creased inherent energy, enable the initiate to accomplish 
more in the path of service than he ever before dreamed 

100 



THE PARTICIPANTS 101 

possible. His dreams and ideals become, not possibilities, 
but demonstrating facts in manifestation. 

The physical centres, such as the pineal gland and the 
pituitary body, will begin to develop rapidly, and he will 
become conscious of the awakening of the "siddhis", or 
powers of the soul, in the higher connotation of the words. 
He will be aware of the process of conscious control, and 
of the self-initiated manipulations of the above powers. 
He will realise the methods of egoic contact and the right 
direction of force. 

The nervous system, through which the emotional 
body or astral nature works, will become highly sensitised, 
yet strong withal. The brain will become ever more rap- 
idly an acute transmitter of the inner impulses. This fact 
is of real importance, and will bring about — as its signi- 
ficance becomes more apparent — a revolution in the atti- 
tude of educators, of physicians and others, to the develop- 
ment of the nervous system and the healing of nervous dis- 
orders. 

Occult memory. The initiate finally becomes aware 
increasingly of the growth of that inner recollection, or 
''occult memory", which concerns the work of the Hier- 
archy and primarily his share in the general plan. When 
the initiate, who occultly recalls, in his waking conscious- 
ness, a ceremonial fact, finds all these manifestations of 
increased growth and conscious realisation in himself, then 
the truth of his inner assurance is proven and substantiat- 
ed to him. 

It must be remembered that this inner substantia- 
tion is of no value to anyone but the initiate. He has to 
prove himself to the outer world through his life of service 
and the work accomplished, and thereby call forth from 
all his environing associates a recognition that will show 
itself in a sanctified emulation and a strenuous effort to 



102 THE PABTICIPANTS 

tread the same path, actuated ever by the same motive, — 
that of service and brotherhood, not self-aggrandisement 
and selfish acquirement. It should also be remembered 
that if the above is true in connection with the work, it is 
still more true in connection with the initiate himself. 
Initiation is a strictly personal matter with a universal ap- 
plication. It rests upon his inner attainment. The ini- 
tiate will know for himself when the event occurs and 
needs no one to tell him of it. The expansion of conscious- 
ness called initiation must include the physical brain or 
it is of no value. As those lesser expansions of conscious- 
ness which we undergo normally every day, and call 
"learning" something or other, have reference to the ap- 
prehension by the physical brain of an imparted fact or 
apprehended circumstance, so with the greater expansions 
which are the outcome of the many lower. 

At the same time, it is quite possible for men to be 
functioning on the physical plane and to be actively em- 
ployed in world service who have no recollection of having 
undergone the initiatory process, yet who, nevertheless, 
may have taken the first or second initiation in a previous 
or earlier life. This is the result, simply, of a lack of 
"bridging" from one life to another, or it may be the out- 
come of a definite decision by the Ego. A man may be 
able better to work off certain karma and to carry out cer- 
tain work for the Lodge if he is free from occult occupa- 
tion and mystic introspection during the period of any one 
earth life. There are many such amongst the sons of men 
at this time who have previously taken the first initiation, 
and a few who have taken the second, but who are never- 
theless quite unaware of it, y^t their centres and nervous 
organisation carry proof to those who have the inner vis- 
ion. If initiation is taken for the first time in any life, 
the recollection of it extends to the physical brain. 



THE PAKTICIPANTS 103 

Curiosity, or even ordinary good living, never brought 
a man to the portal of initiation. Curiosity, by arousing a 
strong vibration in a man's lower nature, only serves to 
swing him away from, instead of towards the goal he is 
interested in; whilst ordinary good living, when not fur- 
thered by a life of utter sacrifice for others, and by a reti- 
cence, humility, and disinterestedness of a very unusual 
kind, may serve to build good vehicles which will be of use 
in another incarnation, but will not serve to break down 
those barriers, outer and inner, and overcome those op- 
posing forces and energies which stand between a "good" 
man and the ceremony of initiation. 

The path of discipleship is a difficult one to tread, and 
the path of initiation harder still ; an initiate is but a bat- 
tle-scarred warrior, the victor in many a hard- won fight; 
he speaks not of his achievements, for he is too busy with 
the great work in hand; he makes no reference to himself 
or to all that he has accomplished, save to deprecate the lit- 
tleness of what has been done. Nevertheless, to the world 
he is ever a man of large influence, the wielder of spiritual 
power, the embodier of ideals, the worker for humanity, 
who unfailingly brings results which succeeding genera- 
tions will recognise. He is one who, in spite of all this 
great achievement, is seldom understood by his own gen- 
eration. He is frequently the butt of men's tongues, and 
frequently all that he does is misinterpreted; he lays his 
all — time, money, influence, reputation, and all that the 
world considers worth while — upon the altar of altruis- 
tic service, and frequently offers his life as a final gift, only 
to find that those whom he has served throw his gift back 
to him, scorn his renunciation, and label him with unsav- 
ory names. But the initiate cares not, for his is the privi- 
lege to see somewhat into the future, and therefore he re- 
alises that the force he has generated will in due course of 



104 THE PAKTICIPAISTTS 

time bring to fulfilment the plan; he knows also that his 
name and effort are noted in the archives of the Lodge, 
and that the "Silent Watcher' ' over the affairs of men has 
taken notice. 

Planetary Existences. 

In considering now the personalities taking part in 
the initiation ceremonies, the first to be dealt with are 
Those Who are termed Planetary Existences. This refers 
to those great Beings who, for a period of planetary mani- 
festation, overshadow or stay with our humanity. They 
are not very many in number, for the majority of the Great 
Ones pass on steadily and increasingly to other and high- 
er work, as Their places can be taken and Their functions 
carried on by members of our earth evolution, both deva 
and human. 

Among Those directly connected with our Lodge of 
Masters in its various divisions upon the planet, the fol- 
lowing might be enumerated: — 

The "Silent Watcher", that great Entity Who is the 
informing life of the planet, and Who holds the same posi- 
tion to the Lord of the World, Sanat Kumara, as the Ego 
does to the lower self of man. Some idea of the high stage 
of evolution of this Great Being may be gathered from the 
analogous degree of evolutionary difference existing be- 
tween a human being and a perfected adept. From the 
standpoint of our planetary scheme, this great Life has no 
greater, and He is, as far as we are concerned, a corres- 
pondence to the personal God of the Christian. He works 
through 1 1 is representative on the physical plane, Sanat 
Kumara, Who is the focal point for His life and energy. 
He holds the world within His aura. This great Existence 



THE PABTICIPANTS 105 

is only contacted directly by the adept who has taken the 
fifth initiation, and is proceeding to take the other two, 
the sixth and seventh. Once a year, at the Wesak Festival, 
the Lord Buddha, sanctioned by the Lord of the World, 
carries to the assembled humanity a dual stream of force, 
that emanating from the Silent Watcher, supplemented 
by the more focalised energy of the Lord of the World. 
This dual energy He pours out in blessing over the people 
gathered at the ceremony in the Himalayas, and from 
them in turn it flows out to all peoples and tongues and 
races. It may not perhaps be generally known that at a 
certain crisis during the Great War the Hierarchy of our 
planet deemed it well nigh necessary to invoke the aid of 
the Silent Watcher, and — employing the great mantram 
whereby the Buddha can be reached — called the attention 
of the latter, and sought his agency with the Planetary 
Logos. In consultation between the Planetary Logos, the 
Lord of the World, one of the Buddhas of activity, the 
Buddha, the Mahachohan, and the Manu (these names are 
given in order of their relative evolutionary stage) it was 
decided to watch proceedings a little longer before inter- 
fering with the trend of affairs, as the Karma of the planet 
would have been delayed should the strife have been end- 
ed too soon. Their confidence in the ability of men duly 
to adjust conditions was justified, and interference proved 
needless. This conference took place at Shamballa. This 
is mentioned to show the close scrutiny given to every- 
thing concerning the affairs of men by the various Plane- 
tary Existences. It is literally true, in an occult sense, 
that "not a sparrow falleth" without its fall being noticed. 
It may be asked why the Boddhisattva was excluded 
from the conference. The reason was that the war was in 
the department of the Manu, and members of the Hier- 
archy concern Themselves with that which is strictly Their 



106 THE PARTICIPANTS 

own business; the Mahachohan, being the embodiment of 
the intelligent or manasic principle, participates in all 
conferences. In the next great strife the department of 
religions will be involved, and the Boddhisattva intimate- 
ly concerned. His Brother, the Manu, will then be rela- 
tively exempt, and will proceed with His own affairs. And 
yet withal there is the closest co-operation in all depart- 
ments, with no loss of energy. Owing to the unity of con- 
sciousness of those who are free from the three lower 
planes, what transpires in one department is known in the 
others. 

As the Planetary Logos is only concerned in the two 
final initiations, which are not compulsory as are the earl- 
ier five, it serves no purpose to enlarge upon His work. 
These initiations are taken upon the buddhic and atmic 
planes, whereas the first five are taken upon the mental. 

The Lord of the World, the One Initiator, He Who is 
called in the Bible "The Ancient of Days", and in the 
Hindu Scriptures the First Kumara, He, Sanat Kumara 
it is, Who from His throne at Shamballa in the Gobi des- 
ert, presides over the Lodge of Masters, and holds in His 
hands the reins of government in all the three departments. 
Called in some Scriptures "the Great Sacrifice'', He has 
chosen to watch over the evolution of men and devas until 
Jill have been occultly "saved''. He it is Who decides upon 
the "advancements" in the different departments, and Who 
settles who shall fill the vacant posts; He it is Who, four 
times a year, meets in conference with all the Chohans 
and Masters, and authorises what shall be done to further 
the ends of evolution. 

Occasionally, too. He meets with initiates of lesser 
degree, but only at times of great crises, when some indi- 
vidual is given the opportunity to bring peace out of strife, 
and to kindle a blaze whereby rapidly crystallising forms 



THE PAKTICIPANTS 107 

are destroyed and the imprisoned life consequently set 
free. 

At stated periods in the year the Lodge meets, and at 
the Wesak Festival gathers under His jurisdiction for 
three purposes : 

1. To contact planetary force through the medium of 
the Buddha. 

2. To hold the principal of the quarterly conferences. 

3. To admit to the ceremony of initiation those who 
are ready in all grades. 

Three other initiation ceremonies take place during 
the year : — 

1. For the minor initiations administered by the 
Boddhisattva, all of which are in the department 
of the Mahachohan, and on one or other of the 
four lesser rays, the rays of attribute. 

2. For the major initiations on one or other of the 
three major rays, the rays of aspect, which are ad- 
ministered by the Boddhisattva, and are there- 
fore the first two initiations. 

3. For the higher three initiations at which Sanat 
Kumara wields the rod. 

At all initiations the Lord of the World is present, 
but at the first two He holds a position similar to that 
held by the Silent Watcher, when Sanat Kumara adminis- 
ters the oath at the third, fourth and fifth initiations. His 
power streams forth and the flashing forth of the star be- 
fore the initiate is the signal of His approval, but the ini- 
tiate does not see Him face to face until the third initiation. 

The three Kumaras, or the three Buddhas of activity. 
Their function at Initiation is interesting. They are three 
aspects of the one aspect, and the pupils of Sanat Kumara. 
Though Their functions are many and varied, and concern 



108 THE PARTICIPANTS 

primarily the forces and energies of nature, and the direc- 
tion of the building agencies, They have a vital connection 
with the applicant for Initiation, inasmuch as They each 
embody the force or energy of one or other of the three 
higher subplanes of the mental plane. Therefore at the 
third Initiation one of these Kumaras transmits to the 
causal body of the Initiate that energy which destroys 
third subplane matter, and thus brings about part of the 
destruction of the vehicle ; at the fourth Initiation another 
Buddha transmits second plane force, and at the fifth, first 
subplane force is similarly passed into the remaining 
atoms of the causal vehicle, producing the final liberation. 
The work done by the second Kumara, with second sub- 
plane force, is in this solar system the most important in 
connection with the egoic body, and produces its complete 
dissipation, whereas the final application causes the atoms 
themselves (which formed that body) to disperse. 

During the Initiation ceremony, when the Initiate 
stands before the Lord of the World, these three great 
Beings form a triangle, within whose lines of force the 
Initiate finds himself. At the first two initiations, where- 
in the Boddhisattva functions as the Hierophant, the Ma- 
hachohan, the Manu, and a Chohan who temporarily rep- 
resents the second department perform a similar office. At 
the highest two initiations, those three Kumaras who are 
called "the esoteric Kumaras" form a triangle wherein 
the Initiate stands, when he faces the Planetary Logos. 

These fads are imparted to teach two things, first, the 
unity of the method, second, that the truism "as above so 
below" is ail occult fact in nature. 

At the final two Initiations many members of the Hi- 
erarchy who arc, if one might so express it, extra -planetary, 
and who function outside the dense physical and the ether- 
ic globe of our planet, take part, but a stricter enumera- 



THE PARTICIPANTS 109 

tion is needless. Sanat Kumara is still the Hierophant, 
yet in a very esoteric manner it is the Planetary Logos 
Himself who officiates. They are merged at that time into 
one Identity, manifesting different aspects. 

Suffice it to say, in concluding this brief tabulation, 
that the making of an initiate is an affair with a dual ef- 
fect, for it involves ever a passing on of some adept or ini- 
tiate to a higher grade or to other work, and the coming 
in under the Law of some human being who is in process 
of attainment. Therefore it is a thing of great moment, 
involving group activity, group loyalty, and united en- 
deavor, and much may depend upon the wisdom of admit- 
ting a man to high office and to a place in the council cham- 
bers of the Hierarchy. 

The Departmental Heads. 

The Manu. 

The Boddhisattva. 

The Mahachohan. 

As has been said, these three great Beings, represent 
the triplicity of all manifestation, and might be expressed 
under the following form, remembering that all this deals 
with subjectivity, and therefore with the evolution of con- 
sciousness and primarily with self -consciousness in man. 

Consciousness. 

The Manu. The Boddhisattva. The Mahachohan. 

The matter aspect .The Spirit aspect . The Intelligence as- 
pect. 

Form Life Mind. 

The Not-Self The Self The relation between. 

Body Spirit Soul. 



110 THE PARTICIPANTS 

Or, in words strictly dealing with self-conscious realisa- 
tion. 

Politics Religion Science. 

Government Beliefs Civilisation. 

Races Faiths Education. 

All human beings belong to one or other of these three 
departments, and all are of equal importance, for Spirit 
and matter are one. All are so interdependent, being but 
expressions of one life, that the endeavour to express the 
functions of the three departments in tabular form is liable 
to lead to error. 

The three Great Lords closely co-operate in the work, 
for that work is one, just as man, though a triplicity, is 
yet an individual unit. The human being is a form through 
which a spiritual life or entity is manifesting, and employ- 
ing the intelligence under evolutionary law. 

Therefore the Great Lords are closely connected with 
the initiations of a human unit. They are too occupied 
with greater affairs and with group activities to have any 
relationship with a man until he stands upon the proba- 
tionary path. When he has, through his own effort, 
brought himself on to the Path of Discipleship, the par- 
ticular Master Who has him under supervision reports 
to the Head of one of the three departments (this being 
dependent upon a man's ray) that he is nearing the por- 
tal of initiation and should be ready for the great step 
during such and such a life. Each life, and later each 
year, report is made, until the final year upon the Path 
of Probation, when closer and more frequent reports are 
handed in. During (ln's final year also, the applicant's 
name is submitted to the Lodge, and after his own Mas- 
ter has reported upon him, and his record has been briefly 
summarised, his name is balloted, and sponsors are ar- 
ranged. 



THE PAKTICIPANTS 111 

During the initiation ceremony the important factors 
are : — 

1. The Initiator. 

2. The triangle of force formed by three adepts or 
three Kumaras.. 

3. The sponsors. 

In the case of the first two initiations, two Masters 
stand, one on each side of the applicant, within the tri- 
angle; at the third, fourth and fifth initiations, the Maha- 
chohan and the Boddhisattva perform the function of spon- 
sor; at the sixth and seventh initiations two great Beings 
Who must remain nameless stand within the esoteric tri- 
angle. The work of the sponsors is to pass through Their 
bodies the force or electrical energy emanating from the 
Kod of Initiation. This force, through radiation, circles 
around the triangle and is supplemented by the force of 
the three guardians ; it next passes through the centres of 
the sponsors, being transmitted by an act of will to the 
initiate. 

Enough has been said elsewhere in this book anent 
the Lodge of Masters and Their relation to the applicant 
for initiation, whilst the work of the Initiate himself has 
been likewise touched upon. That work is not unknown 
to the children of men everywhere, but remains as yet an 
ideal and a far-off possibility. Yet when a man strives to 
reach that ideal, to make it a demonstrating fact within 
himself, he will find that it becomes not only a possibility, 
but something attainable, provided he strives sufficiently. 
The first initiation is within the reach of many, but the 
necessary one-pointedness and the firm belief in the reality 
ahead, coupled to a willingness to sacrifice all rather than 
turn back, are deterrents to the many. If this book serves 
no other purpose than to spur some on to renewed believ- 
ing effort, it will not have been written in vain. 



CHAPTER XII. 
THE TWO REVELATIONS 

We can now consider the stages of the initiation cere- 
mony, which are 1rve in number, as follows : — 

1. The "Presence" revealed. 

2. The "Vision" seen. 

3. The application of the rod, affecting: — 

a. The bodies. 

b. The centres. 

c. The causal vehicle. 

4. The administration of the oath. 

5. The giving of the "Secret" and the Word. 
These points are given in due order, and it must be re- 
membered that this order is not idly arranged, but car- 
ries the initiate on from revelation to revelation until the 
culminating stage wherein is committed to him one of the 
secrets and one of the five words of power which open to 
him the various planes, with all their evolutions. All 
that is aimed at here is to indicate the five main divisions 
into which the initiation ceremony naturally divides itself, 
and the student must bear in mind that each of these five 
stages is in itself a complete ceremony, and capable of de- 
tailed division. 

Let us now take up the various points, dwelling brief- 
ly upon each, and remembering that words but limit and 
confine the true meaning. 

The revelation of the " Presence". 

Right through the later periods of the cycle of incar- 
nation wherein the man is juggling with the pairs of op- 
posing, mid through discrimination is becoming aware of 

112 



THE TWO KEVELATIONS 113 

Beality and Unreality, there is growing up in his mind a 
realisation that he himself is an immortal Existence, an 
eternal God, and a portion of Infinity. Ever the link 
between the man on the physical plane and this inner Bul- 
er becomes clearer until the great revelation is made. Then 
comes a moment in his existence when the man stands 
consciously face to face with his real SELF and knows 
himself to be that Self in reality and not just theoretically ; 
he becomes aware of the God within, not through the sense 
of hearing, or through attention to the inner voice direct- 
ing and controlling, and called the " voice of conscience". 
This time the recognition is through sight and direct vis- 
ion. He now responds not only to that which is heard, 
but also to that which he sees. 

It is known that the first senses developed in a child 
are hearing, touch, and sight ; the infant becomes aware of 
sound and turns his head; he feels and touches; finally, he 
consciously sees, and in these three senses the personality 
is co-ordinated. These are the three vital senses. Taste 
and smell follow later, but life can be lived without them, 
and should they be absent, the man remains practically 
unhandicapped in his contacts on the physical plane. On 
the path of inner, or subjective development, the sequence 
is the same. 

Hearing — response to the voice of conscience, as it 
guides, directs, and controls. This covers the period of 
strictly normal evolution. 

Touch — response to control or vibration, and the rec- 
ognition of that which lies outside of the separated human 
unit on the physical plane. This covers the period of 
gradual spiritual unfoldment, the Path of Probation and 
of Discipleship right up to the door of initiation. The 
man touches at intervals that which is higher than him- 
self ; he becomes aware of the "touch" of the Master, of the 



114 THE TWO KEVELATIONS 

egoic vibration and of group vibration, and through this 
occult sense of touch he accustoms himself to that which 
is inner and subtle. He reaches out after that which con- 
concerns the higher self, and through touching unseen 
things, habituates himself to them. 

Finally, Sight — that inner vision which is produced 
through the initiation process, yet which is withal but the 
recognition of faculty, always present yet unknown. Just 
as an infant has eyes which are perfectly good and clear 
from birth, yet there comes a day Avherein the conscious 
recognition of that which is seen is first to be noted, so 
with the human unit undergoing spiritual unfoldment. 
The medium of the inner sight has ever existed, and that 
which can be seen is always present, but the recognition of 
the majority as yet exists not. 

This "recognition" by the initiate is the first great step 
in the initiation ceremony, and until it has transpired all 
the other stages must wait. That which is recognised dif- 
fers at the different initiations, and might be roughly sum- 
marised as follows : — 

The Ego, the reflection of the Monad, is in itself a tri- 
plicity, as is all else in nature, and reflects the three as- 
pects of divinity, just as the Monad reflects on a higher 
plane the three aspects — will, love- wisdom, and active in- 
telligence — of the Deity. Therefore : 

At the first initiation the initiate becomes aware of 
the third, or lowest, aspect of the Ego, that of active in- 
telligence. He is brought face to tact 1 with that manifesta- 
tion of the great solar angel (Pitris) who is himself, the 
real self. He knows now past all disturbance that that 
manifestation of intelligence is that eternal Entity who 
has for ages past been demonstrating iis powers on the 
physical plane through his successive incarnations. 

At the second initiation this great Presence is seen as 



THE TWO KEVELATIONS 115 

a duality, and another aspect shines forth before him. He 
becomes aware that this radiant Life, Who is identified 
with himself, is not only intelligence in action but also is 
love-wisdom in origin. He merges his consciousness with 
this Life, and becomes one with it so that on the physical 
plane, through the medium of that personal self, that Life 
is seen as intelligent love expressing itself. 

At the third initiation the Ego stands before the ini- 
tiate as a perfected triplicity. Not only is the Self known 
to be intelligent, active love, but it is revealed also as a 
fundamental will or purpose, with which the man imme- 
diately identifies himself, and knows that the three worlds 
hold for him in the future naught, but only serve as a 
sphere for active service, wrought out in love towards the 
accomplishment of a purpose which has been hid during 
the ages in the heart of the Self. That purpose, being now 
revealed, can be intelligently co-operated with, and thus 
matured. 

These profound revelations shine forth before the in- 
itiate in a triple manner : — 

As a radiant angelic existence. This is seen by the 
inner eye with the same accuracy of vision and judgment 
as when a man stands face to face with another member 
of the human family. The great solar Angel, Who em- 
bodies the real man and is his expression on the plane of 
higher mind, is literally his divine ancestor, the " Watch- 
er" Who, through long cycles of incarnation, has poured 
Himself out in sacrifice in order that man might BE. 

As a sphere of radiant fire, linked with the initiate 
standing before it by that magnetic thread of fire which 
passes through all his bodies and terminates within the 
centre of the physical brain. This "silver thread" (as it 
is rather inaccurately called in the Bible, where the de- 
scription of its loosing of the physical body and subse- 



116 THE TWO KEVELATIONS 

quent withdrawal is found) emanates from the heart cen- 
tre of the solar Angel, linking thus heart and brain, — that 
great duality manifesting in this solar system, love and in- 
telligence. This fiery sphere is linked likewise with many 
others belonging to the same group and ray, and thus it is 
a literal fact in demonstration that on the higher planes 
we are all one. One life pulsates and circulates through 
all, via the fiery strands. This is part of the revelation 
which comes to a man who stands in the "Presence" with 
his eyes occultly opened. 

As a many tinted Lotus of nine petals. These petals 
are arranged in three circles around a central set of three 
closely folded petals, which shield what is called in the 
eastern books "The Jewel in the Lotus". This Lotus is a 
thing of rare beauty, pulsating with life and radiant with 
all the colours of the rainbow, and at the first three initia- 
tions the three circles are revealed in order, until at the 
fourth initiation the initiate stands before a still greater 
revelation, and learns the secret of that which lies within 
the central bud. In this connection the third initiation dif- 
fers somewhat from the other two, inasmuch as through 
the power of a still more exalted Hierophant than the 
Boddhisattva, the electrical fire of pure Spirit, latent in 
the heart of the Lotus, is first contacted. 

In all these words, 'solar angel 7 , 'sphere of fire', and 
'lotus', lies hid some aspect of the central mystery of hu- 
man life, but it will only be apparent to those who have 
eyes to see. The mystic significance of these pictorial 
phrases will prove only a snare or a basis for incredulity to 
the man who seeks to materialise them unduly. The 
tin igbl of an immortal existence, of a divine Entity, of a 
great cenl re of fiery energy, and of the full flower of evolu- 
tion, lies hidden in these terms, and they must be thus con- 
sidered. 



THE TWO KEVELATIONS 117 

At the fourth initiation, the initiate is brought into 
the Presence of that aspect of Himself which is called 
"His Father in Heaven". He is brought face to face with 
his own Monad, that pure spiritual essence on the highest 
plane but one, which is to his Ego or higher self what that 
Ego is to the personality or lower self. 

This Monad has expressed itself on the mental plane 
through the Ego in a triple fashion, but now all aspects 
of the mind, as we understand it, are lacking. The solar 
angel hitherto contacted has withdrawn himself, and the 
form through which he functioned (the egoic or causal 
body) has gone, and naught is left but love-wisdom and 
that dynamic will which is the prime characteristic of 
Spirit. The lower self has served the purposes of the Ego, 
and has been discarded; the Ego likewise has served the 
purposes of the Monad, and is no longer required, and the 
initiate stands free of both, fully liberated and able to 
contact the Monad, as earlier he learned to contact the 
Ego. For the remainder of his appearances in the three 
worlds he is governed only by will and purpose, self -initiat- 
ed, and creates his body of manifestation, and thus controls 
(within karmic limits) his own times and seasons. The 
karma here referred to is planetary karma, and not per- 
sonal. 

At this fourth initiation he contacts the love aspect of 
the Monad, and at the fifth the will aspect, and thus com- 
pletes his contacts, responds to all necessary vibrations, 
and is master on the five planes of human evolution. 

Further, it is at the third, the fourth, and the fifth ini- 
tiations that he becomes aware also of that 'Presence' 
which enfolds even that spiritual Entity, his own Monad. 
He sees his Monad as one with the Planetary Logos. 
Through the channel of his own Monad he sees the self- 
same aspects (which that Monad embodies) on a wider 



118 THE TWO KEVELATIONS 

scale, and the Planetary Logos, Who ensonls all the Mon- 
ads on His ray, is thns revealed. This trnth is well-nigh 
impossible to express in words, and concerns the relation 
of the electrical point of fire, which is the Monad, to the 
five-pointed star, which reveals the Presence of the Plane- 
tary Logos to the initiate. This is practically incompre- 
hensible to the average man for whom this book is written. 

At the sixth initiation, the initiate, functioning con- 
sciously as the love-aspect of the Monad, is brought (via 
his 'Father') into a still vaster recognition, and becomes 
aware of that Star which encloses his planetary star, just 
as that star has earlier been seen as enclosing his own tiny 
'Spark'. He thus makes his conscious contact with the 
solar Logos, and realises within himself the Oneness of 
all life and manifestation. 

This recognition is extended at the seventh initiation, 
so that two aspects of the One life become realities to the 
emancipated Buddha. 

Thus by a graded series of steps is the initiate brought 
face to face with Truth and Existence. It will be apparent 
to thoughtful students why this revealing of the Presence 
lias to precede all other revelations. It produces within 
the mind of the initiate the following basic realisations : — 

His faith for ages is justified, and hope and belief 
merge themselves in self -ascertained fact. Faith is lost 
in sight, and things unseen are seen and known. No more 
can he doubt, but he has become instead, through his own 
effort, a KNOWER. 

His oneness with his brothers is proven, and he real- 
ises the indissoluble link which binds him to his fellow men 
everywhere. Brotherhood is no longer a theory but a prov- 
en scientific fact, no more to be disputed than the separate- 
ness of* men on (lie physical plane is to be disputed. 

The immortality of the soul and the reality of the un- 



THE TWO KEVELATIONS 119 

seen worlds is for him proven and ascertained. Whereas, 
before initiation, this belief was based on brief and fleeting 
vision and strong inner convictions (the result of logical 
reasoning and of a gradually developing intuition) now it 
is based on sight and on a recognition past all disproving, 
of his own immortal nature. 

He realises the meaning and source of energy, and 
can begin to wield power with scientific accuracy and di- 
rection. He knows now whence he draws it, and has had a 
glimpse of the resources of energy which are available. 
Before, he knew that that energy existed, and used it blind- 
ly and sometimes unwisely ; now he sees it under the direc- 
tion of the 'open mind ? , and can co-operate intelligently 
with the forces of nature. 

Thus, in many ways, does the revelation of the Pres- 
ence produce definite results in the initiate, and thus it is 
judged by the Hierarchy to be the necessary preamble to 
all later revelations. 

The revelation of the Vision. 

Having brought the initiate face to face with the One 
with whom for countless ages he has had to do, and having 
awakened in him an unshakable realisation of the oneness 
of the fundamental life as it manifests through all lesser 
lives, the next momentous revelation is that of the Vision. 
The first revelation has concerned that which is undefina- 
ble, illimitable, and, (to the finite mind) infinite in its ab- 
stractness and absoluteness. The second revelation con- 
cerns time and space, and involves the recognition by the 
initiate — through the newly aroused sense of occult sight 
— of the part he has played and has to play in the plan, 
and later of the plan itself in so far as it concerns : — 



120 THE TWO REVELATIONS 

a. His Ego. 

b. His egoic group. 

c. His ray group. 

d. His planetary Logos. 

In this four-fold apprehension you have portrayed the 
gradual realisation that is his during the process of the 
four initiations preceding final liberation. 

At the first initiation he becomes aware definitely of 
the part, relatively inconspicuous, that he has to play in 
his personal life during the period ensuing between the 
moment of revelation and the taking of the second initia- 
tion. This may involve one more life or several. He knows 
the trend they should take, he realises somewhat his share 
in the service of the race ; he sees the plan as a whole where 
he himself is concerned, a tiny mosaic within the general 
pattern; he becomes conscious of how he — with his par- 
ticular type of mind, aggregate of gifts, mental and other- 
wise, and his varying capacities — can serve, and what must 
be accomplished by him before he can again stand in the 
Presence, and receive an extended revelation. 

At the second initiation the part his egoic group plays 
in the general scheme is shown to him. He becomes more 
aware of the different group units with whom he is in- 
trinsically associated; he realises who they are in their 
personalities, if in incarnation, and he sees somewhat what 
are the karmic relations between groups, units and him- 
self ; he is given an insight into the specific group purpose, 
and its relation to other groups. He can now work with 
added assurance, and his intercourse with people on the 
physical plane becomes more certain; he can both aid them 
and himself in the adjusting of karma, and therefore bring 
about a more rapid approach to the final liberation. Group 
relations are consolidated, and the plans and purposes 
(jjii be furthered more intelligently. As this consolidation 



THE TWO REVELATIONS 121 

of group relations proceeds, it produces on the physical 
plane that concerted action and that wise unity in pur- 
pose which results in the materialisation of the higher 
ideals, and the adaptation of force in the wise furthering 
of the ends of evolution. When this has reached a cer- 
tain stage, the units forming the groups have learned to 
work together, and have thus stimulated each other; they 
can now proceed to a further expansion of knowledge, re- 
sulting in a further capacity to help. 

At the third initiation there is revealed to the initiate 
the purpose of the subray of the ray to which he belongs, 
that upon which his Ego finds itself. All egoic units are 
upon some subray of the monadic ray. This knowledge is 
conferred upon the initiate so as to enable him eventually 
to find for himself (along the line of least resistance) the 
ray of his Monad. This subray bears upon its stream of 
energy many groups of Egos, and the initiate is therefore 
made aware not only of his egoic group and its intelligent 
purpose, but of many other groups, similarly composed. 
Their united energy is working towards a clearly defined 
goal. 

Having learned somewhat group relations, and having 
developed the ability to work with units in group forma- 
tion, the initiate now learns the secret of group subordina- 
tion to the good of the aggregate of groups. This will de- 
monstrate on the physical plane as an ability to work 
wisely, intelligently and harmoniously with many diverse 
types, and to co-operate in large plans and wield wide in- 
fluence. 

A part of the plans of the Planetary Logos becomes re- 
vealed to him, and the vision includes the revelation of the 
plan and purpose as it concerns the planet, though as yet 
the vision is obscured in connection with those plans in 
their planetary relationship. This brings the initiate 



122 THE TWO KEVELATIONS 

through a series of graded realisations to the portals of the 
fourth initiation. Through the entire loosing of the initi- 
ate from all trammels in the three worlds and the breaking 
of all bonds of limiting karma, the vision this time is great- 
ly extended, and it might be said that for the first time he 
becomes aware of the extent of planetary purpose and kar- 
ma within the scheme. His own personal unimportant 
karma being now adjusted, he can give his attention to the 
working off of planetary karma, and the far-reaching plans 
of that great Life Who includes all the lesser lives. He 
not only is brought to a full recognition of the purposes 
and plans for all the evolutions upon his own planetary 
scheme, the earth, but also there swings into the radius of 
his apprehension that planetary scheme which is our 
earth's complement or polar opposite. He realises the in- 
ter-relation existing between the two schemes and the vast 
dual purpose is revealed to him. It is shown to him how 
this dual purpose must become one united plan, and hence- 
forth he bends all his energies towards planetary co-opera- 
tion as it is furthered by work with and through the two 
great evolutions, human and deva, upon our planet. This 
concerns the making of adjustments, and the gradual ap- 
plication of energy in stimulation of the various kingdoms 
in nature, so that through the blending of all of nature's 
forces the interplay of energy between the two schemes 
may be quickened. In this way the plans of the solar 
Logos, as they are being worked out through two Plane- 
tary Logoi, may be consummated. The handling, there- 
fore, of solar energy on a tiny scale, is now his privilege, 
and he is admitted not only into the council chambers of 
his own Hierarchy, but is permitted entrance also when 
agents from other planetary schemes are in conference 
wiih the Lord of the World and the two great department- 
al heads. 



THE TWO REVELATIONS 123 

At the fifth Initiation the vision brings to him a still 
more extended outlook and a third planetary scheme is 
seen, forming with the other two schemes one of those 
triangles of force which are necessitated in the working out 
of solar evolution. Just as all manifestation proceeds 
through duality and triplicity back to eventual synthesis 
so these schemes, which are but centres of force in the 
body of a solar Logos, work first as separated units living 
their own integral life, then as dualities, through the in- 
terplay of force through any two schemes, thus aiding, 
stimulating and complementing each other, and finally as 
a solar triangle, circulating force from point to point and 
centre to centre until the energy is merged and synthe- 
sized and the three work together in unity. 

When the adept of the fifth initiation can work in line 
with the plans of the three Logoi involved, co-operating 
with Them with ever greater ability, as time elapses, he 
becomes ready for the sixth Initiation, which admits him 
to still higher conclaves. He becomes a participant in 
solar and not merely planetary purposes. 

At this sixth Initiation the most marvelous vision of 
the entire series is his. He sees the solar system as a unit, 
and gets a brief revealing which opens to his amazed un- 
derstanding the fundamental purpose of the Solar Logos ; 
for the first time he sees the plans as a whole in all their 
ramifications. 

At the seventh Initiation his vision penetrates be- 
yond the solar ring-pass-not, and he sees that which he has 
long realised as a basic theoretical fact, that our solar 
Logos is involved in the plans and purposes of a still great- 
er Existence, and that the solar system is but one of many 
centres of force through which a cosmic Entity vastly 
greater than our own solar Logos is expressing Himself. 
In these visions one great purpose underlies them all, — 



124 THE TWO REVELATIONS 

the revelation of essential unity and the unveiling of those 
inner relationships, which, when known, will tend ever 
more fully to swing the initiate into the line of self-abne- 
gating-service, and which will make of him one who works 
towards synthesis, towards harmony, and towards a basic 
unity. 

During the Initiation ceremony, the opening of the 
eyes of the Initiate to see and realise, divides itself into 
three parts, which are nevertheless parts of one process : — 

1. The past sweeps before him, and he sees himself 
playing many parts, all of which are realised to be but the 
gradual bringing of his forces and capacities to the point 
where he can be of service to and with his group. He sees 
and identifies himself — according to the particular initia- 
tion — with 

a. Himself in many earlier lives. 

b. His group in earlier groups of lives. 

c. His egoic ray as it pours down through many 

cycles of time. 

d. His planetary Logos as He functions in the 

past through many evolutions and king- 
doms in the entire scheme, 
and so on until he has identified himself with the past of 
the one life flowing through all planetary schemes and 
evolutions in the solar system. This produces in him the 
resolve to work off karma, and the knowledge (from the 
seeing of past causes) of how it must be accomplished. 

2. The Present. It is revealed to him what is the 
specific work to be done during the lesser cycle in which 
he is immediately involved. This means that he sees not 
only thai which concerns him in any one life, but he knows 
what is to be the Immediate bit of the plan — involving 
maybe several of his tiny cycles called lives — which the 
planetary Logos seeks to see consummated. He then may 



THE TWO REVELATIONS 125 

be said to know his work past all gainsaying, and can ap- 
ply himself to his task with a clear knowledge as to the 
why, the how, and the when. 

3. The future. Then, for his encouragement, there 
is granted to him a picture of a final consummation of a 
glory past all description, with a few outstanding points 
indicative of the major steps thereto. He sees for one 
brief second the glory as it shall be, and that path of ra- 
diant beauty which shineth ever more and more unto the 
perfect day. In the earlier stages he sees the glory of his 
perfected egoic group; later the radiance which pours 
forth from the ray which carries on its bosom the perfected 
sons of men of one particular colour and type ; later again 
he gets a glimpse of the perfection of that great Being 
who is his own Planetary Logos, until finally the perfec- 
tion of all beauty and the radiance which includes all 
other rays of light is revealed, — the sun shining in his 
strength, the Solar Logos at the moment of consummated 
purpose. 



CHAPTER XIII. 
THE RODS OF INITIATION. 



The Rods of Initiation are of four kinds : — 

1. Cosmic, used by a Cosmic Logos in the initiations 
of a Solar Logos and of the three major Planetary Logoi. 

2. Systemic, used by a Solar Logos in the initiations 
of a Planetary Logos. With cosmic initiation we have 
naught to do; it concerns expansions of realisation be- 
yond even the ken of the highest initiate in our solar sys- 
tem. With systemic initiations we are concerned only in 
trifling measure, for they are on so vast a scale that the 
average human mind cannot as yet envisage them. Man 
appreciates these initiations only is so far as they produce 
effects in the planetary scheme with which he may be con- 
cerned. Particularly is this so should the scheme in which 
he plays his microscopic part be the centre in the Logoic 
body receiving stimulation. When that is the case, the 
initiation of his own Planetary Logos takes place, and con- 
sequently he (as a cellular body) receives an added stimu- 
lation along with the other sons of men. 

3. Planetary, used by a Planetary Logos for initia- 
tion purposes, and for the third, fourth, and fifth major 
initiations, with the two higher. At the planetary initia- 
tion the Rod of Power, wielded by the Solar Logos, is 
charged with pure electrical force from Sirius, and was 
received by our Logos during the secondary period of crea- 
tion, from the hands of that great Entity Who is the pre- 
siding Lord of the Lords of Karma. He is the repository 
of the law during manifestation, and He it is Who is the 
representative in the solar system of that greater Brother- 
hood on Sirius Whose Lodges are found functioning as 

126 



RODS OF INITIATION 127 

the occult Hierarchies in the different planets. Again, He it 
is Who, with the Solar Logos to guide Him, invests the va- 
rious Initiators with power, gives to Them that word in se- 
cret which enables Them to draw down the pure electric 
force with which Their rods of office must be charged, and 
commits to Their keeping the peculiar secret of Their par- 
ticular planetary scheme. 

4. Hierarchical. Used by an occult Hierarchy for 
minor initiations, and for the first two initiations of manas 
by the Boddhisattva. 

When man individualised in Lemurian days, it was 
through the application of the Rod of Initiation to the 
Logos of our earth chain, which touched into activity cer- 
tain centres in His body, with their corresponding groups. 
This application produced literally the awakening of the 
life to intelligent work on the mental plane. Animal man 
was conscious on the physical and on the astral planes. 
By the stimulation effected by the electric rod this animal 
man awoke to consciousness on the mental. Thus the 
three bodies were co-ordinated, and the Thinker enabled to 
function in them. 

All Rods of Initiation cause certain effects : — 

a. Stimulation of the latent fires till they blaze. 

b. Synthesis of the fires through an occult activity 
that brings them within the radius of each other. 

c. Increase of the vibratory activity of some centre, 
whether in man, a Heavenly Man, or a Solar Lo- 
gos. 

d. Expansion of all the bodies, but primarily of the 
causal body. 

e. The arousing of the kundalinic fire (or the fire at 
the base of the spine), and the direction of its up- 
ward progression. This fire, and the fire of manas, 
are directed along certain routes — or triangles — 



128 RODS OF INITIATION 

by the following of the Rod as it moves in a speci- 
fied manner. There is a definite occnlt reason, un- 
der the laws of electricity, behind the known fact 
that every initiate presented to the Initiator is ac- 
companied by two of the Masters, Who stand one 
on either side of the initiate. The three of Them 
together form a triangle which makes the work 
possible. 
The force of the Rod is two-fold, and its power terrific. 
Apart and alone the initiate could not receive the voltage 
from the Rod without serious hurt, but in triangle trans- 
mission comes safety. We need to remember here that 
two Masters sponsor all applicants for initiation, and 
represent two polarities of the electric All. Part of Their 
function is to stand with applicants for initiation when 
they come before the Great Lord. 

When the rods are held in the hands of the Initiator 
in His position of power, and at the stated seasons, they act 
as transmitters of electric force from very high levels, so 
high indeed that the "Flaming Diamond", at certain of the 
final initiations, the sixth and seventh, transmits force 
via the Logos from outside the system altogether. This 
major Rod is the one used on this planet, but within the 
system there are several such Rods of Power, and they are 
to be found in three grades — if it may be so expressed. 

One Rod of Initiation is used for the first two initia- 
tions, and is wielded by the Great Lord. It is magnetised 
by the aprdication of the "Flaming Diamond", the mag- 
netisation being repeated for each new World Teacher. 
There is a wonderful ceremony performed at the time that 
a new World Teacher takes office, in which He receives His 
Rod of Power — the same Bod as used since the foundation 
of our Planetary Hierarchy — and holds it forth to the 
Lord of the World, Who touches it with His own mighty 



RODS OF INITIATION 129 

Rod, causing a fresh recharging of its electric capacity. 
This ceremony takes place at Shamballa. 

The Rod of Initiation known as the "Flaming Dia- 
mond", is used by Sanat Kuinara, the One Initiator. This 
Rod lies hidden 'in the east', and holds the fire hidden that 
irradiates the Wisdom Religion. This Rod was brought 
by the Lord of the World from Venus, and once in every 
world period it is subjected to a similar process to that of 
the lesser Rod, only this time it is recharged by the direct 
action of the Logos Himself, the Logos of the Solar System. 
The exact location of this Rod is known only to the Lord 
of the World and to the Chohans of the Rays, and being 
the talisman of this evolution the Chohan of the second 
ray is — under the Lord of the World — its prime guardian, 
aided by the deva Lord of the second plane. The Buddhas 
of activity are responsible for its custody, and under Them 
the Chohan of the ray. It is produced only at stated times, 
when specific work has to be done. It is used not only at 
the initiating of men, but at certain planetary functions of 
of which nothing is at present known. It has its place and 
function in certain ceremonies connected with the inner 
round, and the triangle formed by the Earth, Mars, and 
Mercury. 

The Purpose of the Rods of Power. 

In the sceptre of a ruling monarch at this day is 
hidden the symbolism of these various Rods. They are duly 
recognised as symbols of office and of power, but it is not 
generally appreciated that they are of electrical origin, 
and that their true significance is concerned with the dyna- 
mic stimulation of all the subordinates in office who come 
under their touch, thus inspiring them to increased activ- 
ity and service for the race. 



130 RODS OF INITIATION 

The great Rod of Power of the Logos Himself is hid- 
den in the snn. 

To recapitulate, the esoteric location of the various 
rods is as follows: — 

1. The Rod of the Boddhisattva lies hidden in the 
"heart of the wisdom", that is, at Shamballa. 

2. The Rod of the One Initiator is hidden in "the 
East", a definite planetary location. 

3. The Rod of the Solar Logos is hidden in "the 
heart of the sun", that mysterious subjective 
sphere which lies back of our physical sun, and of 
which our physical sun is but the environing 
shield and envelope. 

4. The Rod of the Cosmic Logos associated with our 
Solar Logos is secreted in that central spot in the 
heavens around which our solar system revolves, 
and which is termed "the central spiritual sun". 

One Rod is charged anew at Shamballa for each new 
World Teacher; the Rod of Sanat Kumara is charged 
afresh at each recurring world period, and therefore seven 
times in the history of a planetary scheme. The Logoic 
Rod of Power is electrified at the recurrence of each new 
period of creation, or for each solar system through which 
the Logos manifests, as a man manifests through his phy- 
sical body life. The first two ceremonies take place at 
Shamballa, the sacred point of planetary manifestation, 
that central location in our physical planet which corres- 
ponds to the heart of a human being. Many of the places 
on the earth's surface, for instance, which are famed for 
their healing properties, are thus noted because they are 
magnetised spots, and their magnetic properties demon- 
si pate as healing influences. The recognition of these prop- 



RODS OF INITIATION 131 

erties by man is but the preamble of a later and more 
tangible recognition, which will eventuate when his etheric 
sight is normally developed. 

These magnetic spots are magnetised in three ways : — 

1. By Sanat Kumara working through the Manu. 
This occurs when it is desirable to form a central 
magnetic point which, by its attractive power, will 
draw into a coherent whole some race, nation, or 
large organisation. Every nation has its "mag- 
netic point", formed in etheric matter by the ap- 
plication of the "Flaming Diamond" to the ethers ; 
it is the national heart and the basis of the na- 
tional character. Usually the chief city of a na- 
tion is built up around it, but this is not invaria- 
bly so. 

2. By Sanat Kumara working through the Boddhi- 
sattva, In this case, the electric force in the Rod 
is wielded in order to draw closer together those 
influences which demonstrate in the great reli- 
gions of the world. The lesser Rod of Power is 
used here in conjunction with the greater. By 
their means the attractive quality or keynote of 
any religion is struck, and of any organisation 
with a religious basis. 

3. By Sanat Kumara working through the Mahacho- 
han. By the wielding of the Rod of Power the 
magnetic focal point of those great organisations 
which affect the civilisation and the culture of a 
people are brought into coherent activity. 

All physical plane organisation — governmental, reli- 
gious, or cultural — is the working out of inner forces and 
causes, and, before they definitely appear in physical mani- 
festation, a focalisation — if it might be so expressed — of 



132 KODS OF INITIATION 

these influences and energies, takes place on etheric levels. 
The organisation of the Freemasons is a case in point. It 
has two magnetic centres, one of which is in Central Eur- 
ope. In all the cases cited, the Lord of the World was the 
officiating agent, as is ever the case in the founding of 
great and important movements. In all lesser movements 
for the helping of the race, initiated by the Masters work- 
ing through Their disciples, the aid of the Boddhisattva is 
invoked, and the lesser Kod of Power employed. 

When disciples initiate a movement on a relatively 
tiny scale, the Master with Whom they work can similarly 
assist them, and though He wields no Kod of Power, He 
has methods whereby He can stimulate and cause to co- 
here the little endeavour of the faithful followers. Thus 
in all departments of human life the Eods of Initiation 
and the Words of Power are used. The entire world gov- 
ernment functions under law and order, and the whole 
scheme is interdependent. 

To return to the subject of human initiation, and these 
Eods of Power. At the time of the Initiation ceremony, 
after the two great revelations there comes a moment of 
utter silence, and in the interim the initiate realises within 
himself the meaning of "Peace". He stands, as it were, in 
a void, or in a vacuum, wherein naught seemingly can 
reach him; he stands twixt earth and heaven for a brief 
second, conscious of naught but the meaning of things as 
they arc, realising his own essential divinity, and the part 
which lie must play when lie again returns to earth serv- 
ice from the Council Chamber of Heaven. He is conscious 
of no anxiety, fear, or doubt. He has contacted the di- 
vine "Presence", and has seen the 1 vision. He knows what 
he has io do and how he musl do it, and peace and joy un- 
utterable fill his heart. This is an interlude of stillness 
before a period of renewed activity, which begins at the 



RODS OF INITIATION 133 

moment that the Eod is applied. Whilst he has been thus 
withdrawn within himself, with all his forces centred in 
his heart, the attendant Lodge of Masters have been per- 
forming certain ceremonies and chanting certain words, 
preparatory to the appearance of the Initiator upon the 
throne, and the wielding of the Rod. The Hierophant has 
hitherto been present, but the work has been handled by 
the Lodge and the Sponsors. He now ascends to the place 
of power, and the Rod is brought to Him by its legitimate 
custodians. 

It is not possible here to publish the details of the 
next stage, beyond using the description as embodied in 
the words "fire descends from heaven' 7 . Through the ut- 
terance of certain words and phrases, which are one of the 
secrets of initiation, and which vary with each initiation, 
the electrical force to be employed descends upon the Rod, 
passing through the heart and the hand of the Initiator to 
the Three Who stand in triangular relation to the throne 
of office. They receive it in turn, and circulate it by act 
of will through Their hearts, thus passing it to the Spon- 
sors. They again, by an act of will, prepare to transmit it 
to that centre in the body of the Initiate which is (ac- 
cording to the initiation) to receive stimulation. Then 
succeeds an interesting interlude, wherein the united wills 
of the Hierarchy are blended in order to transmit that 
force which the Rod has put into circulation. The Hiero- 
phant utters the word, and the force is literally thrown 
into the initiate's bodies and centres, passing down 
through the centres on the mental plane, via the astral 
centres, to the centres on etheric levels, which finally ab- 
sorb it. This is the stupendous moment for the initiate, 
and brings to him a realisation of the literal absolute 
truth of the phrase that "God is a consuming fire". He 
knows past all gainsaying that fiery energy and electric 



134 RODS OF INITIATION 

force constitute the sum-total of all that is. He is literally 
bathed in the fires of purification ; he sees fire on all sides, 
pouring out through the Rod, circulating around the Tri- 
angle, and passing through the bodies of the two sponsor- 
ing adepts. For a brief second, the entire Lodge of Mas- 
ters and initiates, standing in Their ceremonial places with- 
out the Triangle, are hidden from view by a wall of pure 
fire. The initiate sees no one, save the Hierophant, and is 
aware of nothing but a fiery blaze of pure, blue-white flame, 
which burns, but destroys not, which intensifies the activ- 
ity of every atom in his body without disintegrating, and 
which purifies his entire nature. The fire tries his work, 
of what sort it is, and he passes through the Flame. 

The effect of the application of the Rod. 

A. Upon the Initiate's bodies: The effect is four- 
fold and lasting, but varies according to the initiation tak- 
en. The action of the Rod is most carefully and scienti- 
fically regulated, and at each succeeding initiation the 
voltage is increased, and the activity of the resulting fire 
and its heat intensified. By the application of the Rod 
the initiate finds : — 

1. That the activity of each individual atom in his 
various bodies is increased, resulting in a greater 
degree of nervous energy and an elasticity and 
resistance which will serve him in good stead in 
the strenuous life of service ahead. 

2. That matter of an undesirable type in his bodies 
is shaken loose, and the atomic* wall somewhal 
destroyed, making the atoms radio-active — if it 
might he so expressed — and therefore more easily 
eliminated. 



RODS OF INITIATION 135 

3. The fires of the body are stimulated, and the total 
energy of the three-fold lower man is co-ordinat- 
ed, so that there is less waste of energy and a 
greater coherence and uniformity in action. 

4. The aligning of the various bodies in connection 
with the causal, or egoic body is aided, and thus 
continuity of consciousness, and receptivity to the 
behests of the Ego, become possible. 

The initiate will find, when he returns from the cere- 
mony, and takes up his work in the world, that the stimu- 
lation received will bring about in his bodies a period of 
great activity, and also of strife. This strife, persisted 
in to the point of victory, will result in his taking out 
of his body undesirable matter, and building in new and 
better material; he will find that his powers for service 
are enormously increased, and his nervous energy intensi- 
fied, so that he can draw upon reserves of force in service 
hitherto unsuspected. He will find, also, that the response 
of the physical brain to the voice of the Higher Self, and 
its receptivity to the higher and subtler impressions, is 
greatly furthered. Eventually, through the work accomp- 
lished, he will succeed in eliminating all matter of a sub- 
atomic character, and will then build bodies of substance 
of the highest subplane on each plane; he will become 
aware that all his energies can be consciously and con- 
structively controlled, that he knows the real meaning of 
continuity of consciousness, and can function simulta- 
neously on the three planes with full inner realisation. 

B. Upon the causal or egoic body. 

It is only possible to touch very briefly upon the effect 
of the application of the Rod to the causal body of the 
initiate. The subject is immense, and will be more fully 



136 RODS OF INITIATION 

dealt with, in the Treatise on Cosmic Fire to be published 
later. There are just two ways in which, some idea of the 
fundamental truth will be conveyed to the mind of the 
student, which we might now consider. 

First, the student should bear in mind, the interesting 
significance of the fact that he, on the physical plane, is a 
functioning personality, with known and realised char- 
acteristics, and yet withal, that he is a subjective Life, who 
uses that personality as a medium of expression, and who 
— through the agency of the physical, emotional, and men- 
tal bodies which comprise the threefold lower man — makes 
his contacts with the physical plane and thus develops. 
The same general idea of development must be now ex- 
tended to the Higher Self, the Ego on its own plane. This 
Ego is a great solar angel, Who is the medium of expres- 
sion for the Monad or pure spirit, just as is the personality 
for the Ego on the lower level. From the point of view of 
man in the three worlds, this Ego, or Solar Lord, is 
eternal; He persists throughout the entire cycle of incar- 
nation, just as the personality persists during the tiny 
physical life cycle. Nevertheless, this period of existence 
is only relatively permanent, and the day dawns when the 
life which expresses itself through the medium of the Ego, 
the Thinker, the Solar Lord or Manasadeva, seeks to loose 
itself from even this limitation, and to return to the source 
from which it originally emanated. 

The life then, which manifested as a solar angel, and 
which, through inherent energy, held together through 
long ages the form egoic, withdraws itself' gradually, and 
the form slowly dissipates; the lesser lives of which it has 
been constituted, return to tin' general fount of deva sub- 
stance, plus the increased consciousness and activity which 
is theirs through the experience of being built into a form, 
and utilised by a still higher aspect of existence. Similar- 



RODS OF INITIATION 137 

ly, in the case of the personality, when the life egoic with- 
draws, the threefold lower self dissipates; the little lives 
which form the body of what has been called the lnnar 
self (in contradistinction to the solar self, being bnt its 
reflection) are absorbed into the general reservoir of 
deva substance of a lower vibration to that which 
composed the body egoic. Similarly, also, their evolution 
has been furthered through having been built into a form 
for the use of the Higher Self. 

Through the application of the Rod of Initiation, the 
work of separating the spiritual self from the higher self 
is furthered, and the imprisoned life gradually escapes, 
whilst the causal body is slowly absorbed or dissipated. 

This has led to the expression, sometimes used in oc- 
cult books, of "the cracking of the causal body" at each ini- 
tiation, and to the idea of the inner central fire gradually 
breaking through and destroying the confining walls, and 
also of the destruction of the Temple of Solomon through 
the withdrawal of the Shekinah. All these phrases are 
symbolic wordings, and are attempts to convey to the mind 
of man fundamental truth from different angles. 

By the time the fourth initiation has been reached, the 
work of destruction is accomplished, the solar angel re- 
turns to his own place, having performed his function, and 
the solar lives seek their point of emanation, The life 
within the form mounts up then in triumph to the bosom 
of its "Father in Heaven", just as the life within the physi- 
cal body at the moment of death seeks its source, the Ego, 
and this likewise in four stages : — 

1. By the withdrawal from the dense physical body. 

2. By the withdrawal from the etheric body. 

3. By a later vacating of the astral body. 

4. A final leaving of the mental body. 

Another way of emphasizing the same truth is to re- 



138 RODS OF INITIATION 

gard the egoic body as a centre of force, a wheel of energy, 
or a lotus, and to picture it as a lotus with nine petals, 
hiding within these petals a central unit of three petals; 
these in their turn secrete the central life, or the "jewel in 
the lotus". As evolution proceeds, these three circles of 
three petals gradually unfold, having a simultaneous 
effect on one or other of the central three. These three 
circles are called respectively the petals of Sacrifice, Love, 
and Knowledge. At initiation the Rod is applied to the 
petals in a scientific manner, and regulated according to 
ray and tendency. This brings about the opening of the 
central bud, the revelation of the jewel, the withdrawal of 
that jewel from the casket which has so long shielded it, 
and its transference to "the crown", as it is occultly called, 
meaning its return to the Monad whence it came. 

We must clearly recognise that all the above is but an 
attempt, through the limiting agency of words, to describe 
the method and the rites whereby spiritual liberation is 
finally achieved in this cycle ; first, through the method of 
evolutionary unfoldment, or gradual development, and 
then in the final stages through the Rod of Initiation. 

C. Upon the centres. 

At the time that initiation is taken, the centres are all 
active, and the loAver four (which correspond to the Per- 
sonality) are beginning the process of translating the fire 
into the three higher. The dual revolution in the lower 
centres is clearly to be seen, and the three higher are 
commencing to be similarly active. By the application of 
the Rod of Initiation at the time of the initiation cere- 
mony, definite results are achieved in connection with the 
centres, which might be enumerated as follows: — 

The fire at the base of the spine is definitely directed 



RODS OF INITIATION 139 

to whichever centre is the object of special attention. This 
varies according to Ray, or the specialised work of the ini- 
tiate. 

The centre has its activity intensified, its rate of revo- 
lution increased, and certain of the central spokes of the 
wheel brought into more active radiance. These spokes 
of the wheel, or these petals of the lotus, have a close con- 
nection with the different spirillae in the permanent atoms, 
for instance, and in their stimulation comes into play one 
or more of the corresponding spirillae in the permanent 
atoms on the three lower planes. After the third initia- 
tion a corresponding stimulation takes place in the perma- 
nent atoms of the Triad, leading to a co-ordination of the 
buddhic vehicle, and the transference of the lower polari- 
sation into the higher. 

By the application of the Rod of Initiation, the down- 
flow of force from the Ego to the personality is tripled, 
the direction of that force being dependent upon whether 
the centres receiving attention are the etheric or the astral 
at the first and second initiations, or whether the initiate 
is standing before the Lord of the World. In the latter 
case, his mental centres, or their corresponding force vor- 
tices on higher levels, will receive stimulation. When the 
World Teacher initiates at the first and second initiations, 
the direction of the Triadal force is turned to the vivifica- 
tion of the heart and throat centres in their position of 
synthesising the lower. When the One Initiator applies 
the Rod of His power, the downflow is from the Monad, 
and though the throat and heart intensify vibration as a 
response, the main direction of the force is to the seven 
head centres, and finally (at liberation) to the radiant 
head centre above, synthesising the lesser seven head cen- 
tres. 

The centres, at initiation, receive a fresh access of 



140 RODS OF INITIATION 

vibratory capacity and of power, and this results in the 
exoteric life as : — 

1. A sensitiveness and refinement of the vehicles, 
which may result at first in mucji suffering to the initiate, 
but which produce a capacity to respond, that far out- 
weighs the incidental pain. 

2. A development of psychic faculty that again may 
lead to temporary distress, but which eventually causes a 
recognition of the one self in all selves, which is the goal 
of endeavor. 

3. A burning away of the etheric web, through the 
gradual arousing of kundalini and its correct geometrical 
progression, and a resultant continuity of consciousness 
that enables the initiate consciously to utilise time as a 
factor on the planes of evolution. 

4. A gradual grasp of the law of vibration as an as- 
pect of the basic law of building, the law of attraction, is 
brought about, and the initiate learns consciously to build, 
to manipulate though matter for the perfecting of the 
plans of the Logos, to work in mental essence, and to apply 
the law on mental levels, and thereby affect the physical 
plane. Motion originates cosmically on cosmic levels, and 
in the microcosm the same will be seen. There is an oc- 
cult hint here that, pondered on, will reveal much. At 
initiation, at the moment of the application of the Rod, 
the initiate consciously realises the meaning of the law of 
attraction in form building, and in the synthesis of the 
i hree fires. Upon his ability to retain that realisation, and 
himself to apply Hie law, will depend his power to pro- 
gress. 

5. The Hierophant transmits higher manasic energy 
to the initiate, so that lie is enabled eonseiously to know 
and recognise the plan for his group centre, through the 
immensely increased stimulation. This force descends 



RODS OF INITIATION 141 

from the manasic permanent atom via the antaskarana, 
and is directed to whichever centre the Hierophant — un- 
der the law — sees should be stimulated. 

6. The Initiator stabilises the force and regulates 
its flow, as it circulates through the egoic body, so that 
when the work of unfoldment is accomplished, the seventh 
principle at the Heart of the Lotus can stand revealed. 
After each initiation the lotus is more unfolded, and light 
from the centre begins to blaze forth — a light or fire which 
ultimately burns through the three enshrining petals, and 
permits the full inner glory to be seen, and the electric fire 
of spirit to be manifested. As this is brought about on the 
second subplane of the mental plane (whereon the egoic 
lotus is now situated) a corresponding stimulation takes 
place in the dense substance which forms the petals or 
wheels of the centres on the astral and etheric levels. 



CHAPTER XIV. 
THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE OATH 

The work of the Lodge during Initiation. 

We now come to the most solemn part of the initiation 
ceremony. This ceremony, from one point of view, divides 
itself into three parts : — 

First. That in which the initiate is concerned and in 
which he realises his own august self, the Pres- 
ence, and sees the vision and the plan. 
Second. That in which the Initiator is concerned, in 
which He wields the rod of fire, and effects cer- 
tain specific results in the body of the applicant. 
Third. That in which certain words and formulas 
are committed to the initiate by the Hierophant, 
and which he carries away within his conscious- 
ness in order the better to carry out that portion 
of the plan which concerns himself. 
During the whole procedure the Lodge of Masters, 
congregated without the Triangle of force, has been occu- 
pied with a three-fold work, Their aim being to pro- 
duce certain results in the consciousness of the initiate 
find thus to aid the Hierophant in His strenuous endeav- 
our. It must be remembered that under the law of econ- 
omy wherever there is an application or a transmission of 
force from one force centre to another there is a conse- 
quent diminution in the centre of withdrawal. This is the 
basis of the set times and seasons in connection with the 
initiation ceremony. The sun is the source of all energy 
and power, and the work of the Initiator is facilitated 



142 



THE OATH 143 

when advantage is taken of favourable solar conditions. 
The times and seasons are ascertained through esoteric sol- 
ar and cosmic astrology ; this being based, of course, on the 
correct figures, the true mathematical conception, and a 
real knowledge of the basic facts concerning the planets 
and the solar system. The horoscope of the initiate is also 
invariably cast so as to check the time for an individual 
initiation, and only when the individual signs blend and 
coincide with the ceremonial chart by which the Initiator 
is guided, is it possible to perform the ceremony. This is 
the reason why sometimes initiation has to be postponed to 
a later life, even when the initiate has done the necessary 
work. 

The three-fold work of the Lodge during the ceremony 
may be described as follows : — 

First: The chanting of certain mantrams sets loose 
energy from a particular planetary centre. It must be re- 
membered here that every planetary scheme is a centre in 
the body of a Solar Logos, and embodies a peculiar type of 
energy or force. According to the energy desired at a par- 
ticular initiation, so it is transferred, via the sun, from 
that planetary centre to the initiate. The procedure is as 
follows : — 

a. The energy is set in motion from the planetary 
centre through the power of the Planetary Logos, 
aided by the scientific knowledge of the Lodge, and 
the utilisation of certain words of power. 

b. It passes thence to the sun where it mingles with 
pure solar energy. 

c. It is transmitted from the sun to that particular 
chain in our Earth scheme which corresponds nu- 
merically to the particular originating planetary 
scheme. 



144 THE OATH 

d. From there it is transferred to the corresponding 
globe, and thence to the dense physical planet. By 
the nse of a particular mantram the Initiator then 
focuses the energy in His own body, using it both 
as a receiving and a transmitting station. Even- 
tually it reaches the initiate, via the Triangle and 
the Sponsors. It will be apparent, therefore, to 
the student that when the Initiator is the Lord 
of the World, or the physical reflection of the 
Planetary Logos of our scheme, the force comes 
more directly to the initiate than at the first two 
initiations, wherein the Boddhisattva is the Hiero- 
phant. Only at the third initiation will the ini- 
tiate be in a condition to receive direct planetary 
force. 
Second : The concentration undertaken by the Lodge 
assists the initiate to realise within himself the various 
processes undergone. This is accomplished by working 
definitely on his mental body, arid thus stimulating all 
the atoms, through the united thought power of the Mas- 
ters. The work of apprehension is thus directly aided. 
This concentration in no way resembles hypnotic sugges- 
tion, or the powerful impress of stronger minds upon the 
weaker. It takes the form of a strenuous meditation by 
the assembled Masters and initiates upon the realities con- 
cerned and upon the Self ; through the force thus liberated 
the initiate 1 is enabled to transfer his consciousness more 
easily away from the not-self to the divine essentials where- 
with he is immediately concerned. The thought power of 
the Masters succeeds in shutting out the vibration of the 
three worlds and enables the applicant literally to "leave 
behind li i in" ;ill the past and to have that far-seeing vision 
which sees the end from the beginning and the things of 
time as though they were not. 



THE OATH 145 

Third: Through certain ceremonial rhythmic action 
the Lodge greatly assists in the work of initiation. Just 
as in the Wesak Festival, results in force demonstration 
are brought about by the use of chanted mantrams and 
the sacred ceremonial pacing and interweaving of the as- 
sembled crowd in the formation of geometrical figures, so 
in the initiation ceremony a similar procedure is followed. 
The geometrical figures appropriate for the various initia- 
tions differ, and herein lies one of the safeguards of the 
ceremony. The initiate knows the set figure for his own 
initiation, but no more. 

All these three aspects of the work of the Master and 
initiates in Lodge assembled, occupy them until the mo- 
ment when the Rod has been applied. Through its appli- 
cation the initiate has become a member of the Lodge, and 
the entire ceremonial then changes, prior to the taking of 
the oath and the revelation of the Word and Secret. 

The Sponsors drop back from either side of the initi- 
ate and take Their places in the ranks, whilst the three 
Buddhas of activity (or Their representatives at the first 
two initiations) take Their stand behind the seat of office 
of the Hierophant. The Lodge members are grouped dif- 
ferently, and initiates of the same degree as the newly-ad- 
mitted applicant place themselves around him, and assist 
in the final part of the ceremony; the remainder of the 
initiates and adepts stand in their various grades. 

The earlier three stages of the initiation ceremony are 
the same for all initiations. In the final two stages those 
who are not of equal rank with the newly made initiate 
(such as first degree initiates at the initiation of a third 
degree member) drop back to the rear of the Hall of Ini- 
tiation at Shamballa, and a "wall of silence" is built up 
through mantric energy between the two groups; a vac- 
uum, so to speak, is formed, and nothing can then be trans- 



146 THE OATH 

niitted from the inner group to the outer. The latter con- 
fine themselves to deep meditation and the chanting of cer- 
tain formulas, and in the inner group around the Hiero- 
phant a dual performance is taking place: — 

a. The newly made initiate is taking the oath. 

b. Certain words and secrets are being handed over 
to him. 

Two types of oaths. 

All oaths connected with the occult Hierarchy 
may be divided into two groups : — 

1. The Oath of Initiation, in which the initiate binds 
himself by the most solemn pledges never to re- 
veal, on pain of summary punishment, any occult 
secret, or to express in words outside the Initia- 
tion Hall that which has been committed to his 
keeping. 

2. The Oath of Office, administered when any mem- 
ber of the Lodge takes a specific post in Hier- 
archical work. This oath deals with his functions 
and with his relations to 

a. The Lord of the World, 

b. His immediate superior, 

c. His fellow workers in the Lodge, 

d. The world of men whom he is to serve. 

It is needless to say more here regarding this latter 
type of oath, as it concerns only officials of the Hierarchy. 

The Oath of Initiation 

The Oath of Initiation, with which Ave arc dealing 
now, is divided into three sections, and is administered by 
the llieroplmnt to the initiate, being repeated after the 



THE OATH 147 

Initiator phrase by phrase; it is punctuated at various 
points by the chanting, by initiates of the same degree, of 
words in Sensa equivalent to "So let it be". 

The three divisions of the oath may be roughly des- 
cribed as : — 

1. A solemn phrase embodying the purpose actuat- 
ing the initiate, a protestation as to his unchange- 
able will-attitude, and a solemn declaration as to 
his realisation, coupled with a promise to reveal 
no part of the realised purpose except in so far 
as his daily life in the world of men and his serv- 
ice for the race will proclaim it. This involves an 
oath as to secrecy concerning the revealed part of 
the Logoic plan seen in the "revelation of the 
vision". 

2. An undertaking of a profoundly solemn nature 
concerning his relation to his other selves, the 
Lodge of which he is a member, and the selves of 
men everywhere. This involves his attitude to his 
brothers of all' degrees, and includes also a seri- 
ous undertaking never to reveal the true nature 
of the self aspect as it has been shown to him in 
initiation. This includes an oath of secrecy as to 
the realised relationship of the Solar Logos to the 
Planetary Logos, and of the Planetary Logos of 
our scheme to the scheme itself. 

3. The enunciation of a solemn undertaking never to 
reveal to anyone the knowledge that has come to 
him as to the sources of energy and of force with 
which he has been brought into contact. This is 
a triple oath to retain complete silence as to the 
true nature of energy, as to its laws of manipula- 
tion, and a pledge only to use the force placed at 
his disposal through initiation for the service of 



US THE OATH 

the race and the furthering of the plans of the 
Planetary Logos. 

This great oath is couched in different terms, accord- 
ing to the initiation undergone, and, as earlier said, is 
taken in three sections with an interlude between each part 
occupied by certain ceremonial work of the initiated group 
around the newly admitted brother. 

It might here be noted that each section of the oath 
really concerns one of the three aspects of divine mani- 
festation, and as the initiate takes his pledge, one of the 
three Heads of Departments collaborates with the Initia- 
tor in the work of administration. In this way energy of 
a triple nature becomes available according to the differ- 
ent sections of the oath taken. This energy flows down 
from the three major rays, through the Hierophant and 
the corresponding Departmental Head at the first two ini- 
tiations, to the initiate, via the group of initiates of the 
same degree, so that each initiation is a means of stimula- 
tion and expansion to all. At the final five initiations the 
force flows via the three Buddhas of Activity instead of 
the departmental heads. 

It might be of interest to point out here that during 
this part of the ceremony the group is bathed in colour, 
corresponding to the type of energy and its originating 
planetary scheme, and it is the work of the Initiator to put 
the initiate in touch with this energy. This pours down 
upon the group from the moment that segregation has been 
effected, and is brought about by the Initiator using cer- 
taili words and elevating His Rod of Power. The three 
Buddhas of Activity, Who are the great energy centres 
upon our planet, then touch the tip of the rod with Their 
si jiffs of office, a certain mystic word is jointly uttered 
by Them, and the downpour begins, continuing to the end 
of the ceremony. 



THE OATH 149 

The question may be asked whether any initiates break 
their oath. Very rarely, for we must remember that no 
initiation is taken until a certain stage has been reached. 
A few cases have occurred, but as the Lord of the World 
is cognisant of all that transpires, the future, as well as 
the present and the past, no opportunity is ever given to 
an initiate to reveal that which is hidden. Intent may ex- 
ist, but opportunity will lack. The initiate who thus sins 
in intention will be struck dumb, and sometimes dead, 
prior to thus failing. 



CHAPTEK XV. 
THE GIVING OF THE WORD. 



The Solar Words. 

The basis of all manifested phenomena is the enunciat- 
ed sound, or the Word spoken with power, that is, with 
the full purpose of the will behind it. Herein, as you know, 
lies the value of meditation, for meditation produces even- 
tually that inner dynamic purpose and recollection, or 
that internal ideation which must invariably precede the 
uttering of any creative sound. When it is said that the 
Logos produced the worlds through meditation it means 
that within His own centre of consciousness there was a 
period wherein He brooded over and meditated upon the 
purposes and plans He had in view; wherein He visual- 
ised to Himself the entire world process as a perfected 
whole, seeing the end from the beginning and being aware 
of the detail of the consummated sphere. Then, when His 
meditation was concluded, and the whole completed as a 
picture before His inner vision, He brought into use a cer- 
tain word of power which had been committed to Him by 
the One about Whom naught may be said, the Logos of the 
cosmic scheme of which our system is but a part. With 
cosmic and Logoic initiations we are not concerned, ex- 
cept in so far as the human initiations reflect their stupen- 
dous prototypes, but it is of interest to the student to real- 
ise that just as at each initiation some word of power is 
committed to the initiate, so similarly to the Logos was 
committed the great word of power which produced our 
solar system, thai word which is called the "Sacred Word", 
or AUM. It must be here remembered that this sound 



150 



THE WOKD 151 

AUM is man's endeavor to reproduce on an infinitesimally 
small scale the cosmic triple sound whereby creation was 
made possible. The words of power of all degrees have a 
triple sequence. a 

First. They are sounded by some fully self conscious 
entity, and this invariably takes place after a period of 
deliberation or meditation wherein the purpose in toto is 
visualised. 

Second. They affect the deva kingdom and produce 
the creation of forms. This effect is dual in character — 

a. The devas on the evolutionary path, the great 
builders of the solar system, and those under them 
who have passed the human stage respond to the 
sound of the Word, and with conscious realisa- 
tion collaborate with the one who has breathed 
it forth, and thus the work is carried out. 

b. The devas on the involutionary arc, the lesser 
builders, who have not passed through the human 
stage, also respond to the sound, but unconscious- 
ly, or perforce, and through the power of the ini- 
tiated vibrations build the required forms out of 
their own substance. 

Third. They act as a stabilising factor, and as long 
as the force of the sound persists, the forms cohere. When 
the Logos, for instance, finishes the sounding of the sacred 
AUM, and the vibration ceases, then disintegration of the 
forms will ensue. So with the Planetary Logos, and thus 
on down the scale. 

The words of power, or the permutations of the AUM, 
exist in every possible tone, sub-tone, and quarter-tone, 
and upon these shades of sound the work of creation and 
its sustenation is built up. A multiplicity of sounds ex- 
ists within each greater sound and affects different groups. 



152 THE WORD 

It must be remembered also that, generally and broadly 
speaking, the sounds within the solar system fall into two 
groups : — 

1. The initiatory sounds, or those which produce 
manifestation or phenomena of any kind on all 
planes. 

2. Eventuating sounds, or those which are produced 
from within the forms themselves during the evo- 
lutionary process, and which are the aggregate of 
the tones of every form in any particular king- 
dom of nature. Every form likewise has a tone 
which is produced by the minute sounds produced 
by the atoms composing that form. These sounds 
grow out of the other group and affect inferior 

- groups or kingdoms, if the word 'inferior' may be 
used in connection with any department of divine 
manifestation. For instance, the human kingdom 
(the fourth creative Hierarchy) was produced by 
a triple AUM sounded in a particular key by the 
three persons of the Trinity in unison, — God the 
Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, or 
Shiva, Vishnu, and Brahma. This sound is still 
going forth; the interplay and interblending of 
the many tiny notes of each human being produc- 
es a great united sound which can be heard in the 
high places and which, in its turn, is having a defi- 
nite effect upon the animal kingdom. It is one of 
the factors which produces animal forms, both for 
human and animal occupation, for it must ever be 
remembered that man links the animal and the 
the divine. 

It is neither possible nor desirable to enumerate the 
words of power, but certain general indications may be 



THE WORD 153 

given which will help the student to realise somewhat the 
magnitude of the subject and its intricacy. 

1. The Great Word, as sounded by the Logos of the 
solar system, and communicated to Him by His superior, 

2. Three Words committed by the Solar Logos to 
each of the three Logoi as follows : — 

a. The sacred sound A to Shiva, He Who embodies 
the spirit or will aspect. It is the Word through * 
which God the Father works. 

b. The sound U to Vishnu, God the Son. He is the 
form-builder and provides the body which the 
spirit must occupy, thereby making divine incar- 
nation possible. A is the life sound, U is the form 
sound. 

c. The sound M to Brahma, Who, in His work of En- 
ergy-provider, links in active intelligence, spirit 
and form, or the self and not-self. 

It might here be pointed out that much information 
anent the three departments of the Hierarchy of our plan- 
et will come to the student who wisely ponders these func- 
tions. 

3. Seven great Words, again based on the sacred 
three sounds AUM. These produced creation, or the 
manifestation of the seven planes of our solar system. They 
are committed not to human entities, but to the seven great 
Devas or Raja-Lords who are the ensouling lives of a 
plane; hence in the various initiations their collaboration 
is necessary, before these key words can be committed to 
the initiate. 

4. Forty-nine Words related to the forty-nine sub- 
planes or Fires. These again are committed to the forty- 
nine builders of the sacred fires. 

The above two groups of words are in the jurisdiction 
of the third aspect, and are given out by Brahma. 



154 THE WORD 

5. There are again five great Words with signs which 
come nnder the department of Vishnu, or God the Son, 
and are breathed out by Him. By their means the five 
kingdoms of nature on the evolutionary arc came into 
being : — 

a. The mineral kingdom. 

b. The vegetable kingdom. 

c. The animal kingdom. 

d. The human kingdom. 

e. The spiritual kingdom. 

These five are permutations of, or are built up upon 
the sound U, as the ones earlier enumerated are built up 
upon the sound M. 

In connection with the first three kingdoms it may be 
of interest to note that they are based upon two sounds, 
the U sounded on the basic key tone of the M. In the 
fourth kingdom the M tone is dying down and the two 
notes sounded forth are the U and the A. In the fifth king- 
dom the M has subsided into a distant undertone, the U 
is blended with it so as to be indistinguishable, and the A, 
or Shiva note, is pealing forth in power, and is practical- 
ly the only note heard. By the sounding of this note, — 
that of Shiva the Destroyer, — the not-self is negated, and 
all that is not of spirit passes into dissolution, It is the 
coming in of the A sound which affects the severance or 
liberation of the initiate from the three worlds. 

(5. There are certain words also committed to each 
of the Planetary Logoi, and they are the basis of planetary 
manifestation. As is well known, the sound of the Brahma 
aspect, or the third aspect of our particular Planetary 
Logos, is FA, and herein lies much of illumination as to 
llis point in evolution, for it is immediately apparent that 
the A sound is reaching even the dense physical. 

7. Within our own Eierarchy there are numbers of 



THE WOKD 455 

words built up upon the great Word of our Planetary Lo- 
gos, and these are committed to the Departmental Heads, 
who in turn pass them on in permutated order to the grad- 
ed initiates. It will be wise here for the student to dif- 
ferentiate carefully in his mind between words and sounds, 
for the word veils the thought or intended idea or pur- 
pose, and the sound makes it possible to manifest in mat- 
ter of some kind, on one or other of the seven planes. 

We cannot here trace the expansion of the basic words, 
from their enunciation by cosmic entities down to the in- 
finitesimal differentiations produced in the speech of man, 
the vocal expression of the animals, and the song of birds. 
Each is a manifestation of consciousness in some de- 
gree, and each produces an effect. What the initiate is 
learning to do is to make sounds consciously, and thus 
p reduce a studied and desired result; to utter words, and 
be fully aware of the consequence on all planes; and to 
create forms and direct energy through sacred sounds, and < 
thus further the ends of evolution. 

It has been necessary to digress thus before taking up 
the committal of words to the initiate, in order to empha- 
size the radical importance of the matter, and thus ac- 
count for the carefully guarding of this aspect of divine 
work. 

The use of the Words. 

We have already dealt with the significance of the 
Words of Power in a brief manner. We might now sum 
up certain of the inferred postulates, and then touch some- 
what upon the initiation ceremony, and the Words as 
committed to the initiate. The postulates here made are 
nine in number, and if duly pondered upon by the aspir- 



156 THE WORD 

ant, will reveal to him much anent the creative process and 
the power of speech. 

1. All the words of power are rooted in the great 
Word committed to the Solar Logos at the dawn of mani- 
festation. 

2. All the words of power are permutations or ex- 
pansions of the three basic sounds, and increase in length 
as the planes are involved, until the sentences and speech 
of the finite unit, man, in their myriad differentiations are 
arrived at. 

3. Therefore, on the path of return, speech becomes 
ever more brief, words are more sparingly used, and the 
time eventually comes when the adept employs formulas 
of words only as required to carry out specific purposes 
along two lines : — 

a. Definite creative processes. 

b. Specific direction of energy. 
This, of course, on the planes in the three worlds. 

4. The aspirant, therefore, has mainly three things 
to do when preparing for initiation : — 

a. To control every activity of his three-fold lower 
nature. This involves the application of intelli- 
gent energy to every atom of his three sheaths — 
physical, astral, and mental. It is literally the 
shining forth of the Brahma, or third aspect, of 
the inner God. 

I). To control his speech every minute of every day. 
This is a statement easily made, but most difficult 
to make practical. He who achieves it is rapidly 
Dealing emancipation. This applies not to the reti- 
cence, the moroseness, the silence, and the voice- 
lessness which often distinguishes natures but Ut- 
ile evolved, and which are in reality an inarticu- 
late condition, it refers to the controlled use of 



THE WOED 157 

words to effect certain ends, and the retention of 
speech energy when not needed, — a very different 
matter. It involves a realisation of cycles; of 
times and of seasons; it supposes a knowledge of 
the power of sound, and of the effects produce, 
through the spoken word; it involves an appre- 
hension of the building forces of nature and their 
due manipulation, and is based on an ability to 
wield mental matter, and to set it in motion, in 
order to produce results in physical matter, con- 
sonant with the clearly denned purpose of the 
inner God. It is the shining forth of the second 
aspect of the self, the Vishnu, or form-building as- 
pect, which is the prime characteristic of the Ego 
on its own plane. It would be well to ponder on 
this. , • 

c. To meditate, and thus arrive at the purpose of 
the Ego. By thus meditating the first aspect 
comes steadily into greater prominence, and the 
conscious will of the inner God can make itself 
felt on the physical plane. 
The three activities of the aspirant must parallel each 
other, and it will be noted that the second is the outcome 
of the first and will manifest as energy on the physical 
plane. Only when the aspirant has made real progress in 
these three lines of endeavour will the first of the great 
words be committed to him. 

5. Every great word includes within itself its differ- 
entiations, its expansions and permutations, and by its ut- 
terance the initiate sets in motion the lesser, through the 
vibration of the greater. Hence the terrific responsibility 
and the magnitude of the results achieved. Each word is 
committed to the initiate orally and visually. It is spoken 
to him first in the form of seven syllables, each of which 



158 THE WOED 

he has to memorise as a separate word. Then he is shown 
how to blend these seven so as to make a three-fold sonnd 
and thus produce more united and far-reaching results. 
Finally the three are blended into one word which is com- 
mitted to him. The seven words which form the great 
Word at any initiation are communicated to the initiate 
by the initiates of equal rank with his own. This group 
divides itself into seven groups, according to sub-ray or 
ray formation, and each group then chants one word in 
rapid rotation. Simultaneously, the colours and symbols 
of the various sounds pass in front of him, so that he 
hears and sees that which is committed to him. The more 
advanced group around the throne of office (the three De- 
partmental Heads at the first two initiations, and the 
Pratyeka Buddhas at the final ones) chant then for him 
the triple Word which blends the seven, and again he sees 
it before his inner eye. Finally the Initiator sounds it 
forth, and the initiate becomes aware within himself, in 
practical experience, of the one great sound, and knows in 
one particular centre what its vibration is. As is well 
known, every centre is connected with some plane, scheme, 
ray, and other septenary divisions, and thus the signific- 
ance of its inner re-action will be apparent. 

G. The Masters and initiates, in Their work of aiding 
the evolution of the three worlds, concern Themselves prin- 
cipally with the seven syllables of the word of Their de- 
gree or initiated grade. The three words which blend the 
seven are seldom used except under the direct sanction of 
one of the Departmental Heads (according to the syllable 
involved each word is directly connected with the triple 
AUM, and therefore with the Brahma, Vishnu, or Shiva 
aspect, of which the three Heads are the planetary repre- 
sental Lves i. 

When any initiate desires to use, for evolutionary pur- 



THE WORD 159 

poses, the entire word as a unit, the sanction of the as- 
sembled Lodge has to be gained, for such a word affects, 
as you know, the matter of an entire plane within a plane- 
tary scheme, and consequently the matter of those planes 
which are subsidiary to the one involved. For instance, 
an initiate of the third degree, in sounding the word of 
his degree, affects the matter of the lower mental sub- 
planes, and subsequently the matter of the astral and phy- 
sical planes. An initiate of the second degree similarly 
affects the astral plane, and subsequently the physical. 
Far reaching results are thus achieved, and the work of 
many is thus affected. 

7. Every word, differentiated or synthesised, affects 
the deva kingdoms, and hence the form-building aspects 
of manifestation. No sound is ever made without produc- 
ing a corresponding response in deva substance, and driv- 
ing multitudes of tiny lives to take specific forms. These 
forms persist and carry out their functions just as long as 
the sound which caused them is prolonged, and the spe- 
cific will-energy of the one who initiated the sound is di- 
rected towards the living form. This is equally true of a 
Solar Logos enunciating the AUM, and thus producing the 
solar system ; of a Planetary Logos sounding his planetary 
word, and producing a planetary scheme ; of an adept pro- 
ducing results for the helping of humanity on the physical 
plane ; and of an ordinary human being, who — in much dif- 
ferentiated diversified speech — expresses an inner purpose 
or state of mind, and thus builds a form or vehicle in deva 
substance. The majority of human beings as yet build un- 
consciously, and the form constructed is either of a bene- 
ficent or maleficent agency, according to the underlying 
motive or purpose of the man, and will carry out his will 
as long as its term of being persists. 

8. Every word sounded is distinguished by: — 



160 THE WORD 

a. A specific colour. 

b. A particular tone. 

c. A special form. 

d. A degree of energy or activity. 

e. The nature of the ensouling life, self-con- 
scious, conscious, or unconscious, God, man, 
or deva. 

The student, again, will find this equally true of a solar 
system, of a planetary scheme, of a human being, of a 
thought form ensouled by an elemental life, and of the 
atom of the physicist or chemist. In the knowledge of 
these facts, and in their conscious realisation, may be 
known the true occultist. The Solar Logos sounded forth 
a Word, the form of our solar system came into being, its 
color being blue and its note a particular cosmic musical 
tone. Its degree of activity is of a specific mathematical 
notation beyond the grasp of the human mind at this 
stage of development ; and the nature of its great ensouling 
Life, that of the triple Logos, is active, intelligent Love. 

9. The great Word of our solar system keys in, if 
it might be so expressed, with other words, and is but 
one word of the seven-fold Word, known to that great 
Existence Who stands in the same relation to the Solar 
Logos as the latter does to the Planetary Logos. The 
sacred Words of seven solar systems, (of which ours is but 
one) make up this septenary sound, which vibrates at this 
time in the cosmic spheres. 

In these nine statements are very cursorily summed 
up the major truths anent the creative processes in the 
solar system. In them lies hidden the secret of the true 
magic, and in their comprehension will come to the man 
who has spiritual intuition, purity of lite and motive, al- 
truistic intention, and a stern self-control and courage, the 
power to further the purposes of the Ego, who is a con- 



THE WORD 161 

scious collaborator in the work of evolution, and a sharer 
in part of the plans of the Planetary Logos of our scheme. 
They are given in this brief form both to protect the con- 
cealed truths and yet to reveal them to those who are 
ready. 

These seven words of the solar system, which 
form the logoic Word which we only know in its 
triple form as AUM, are revealed at the seven initiations. 

At the first initiation is given the Word for the phys- 
ical plane. 

At the second initiation is given the Word for the as- 
tral plane. 

At the third initiation is given the Word for the lower 
mental plane. 
At this initiation, in which, as earlier said, the Hierophant 
is the Lord of the World, not only is the word given for the 
lower mental plane, but a word which synthesises the 
three words for the three worlds is also committed. It is 
given to the initiate as a topic for meditation, until he 
takes the fourth initiation, but he is forbidden to use it 
until the final liberation, as it gives entire control on the 
three lower planes. 

At the fourth initiation the Word for the higher men- 
tal plane is imparted. 

At the fifth initiation the Word for the buddhic plane 
is given. 

At the sixth initiation the Word for the atmic plane. 

At the seventh initiation the Word for the monadic 
plane is given. 
At the sixth initiation the Word which synthesises the 
fourth, fifth and sixth words is given by the Hierophant, 
and thus the initiate wields complete control, through the 
power of sound, over the substance of the five planes of 
human evolution. At the seventh initiation the triple 



162 THE WORD 

AUM, in its true character, is revealed to the illuminated 
Buddha, and he can then manipulate energy in the six 
worlds or planes. 

Two more initiations can be taken, but little is ever 
said about them on our earth scheme, for the reason that 
our scheme is not a "sacred" scheme, and few, if any, of 
our humanity achieve the eighth and ninth initiation. To 
do so, they must first pass to another scheme for a lengthy 
X>eriod of service and instruction. All that can be hinted at 
is, that at the eighth initiation the duality of the triple 
AUM is brought out, and at the ninth the one sound of the 
Absolute stands revealed, and its significance is heard and 
seen. This brings into the consciousness of the initiate 
somewhat of the energy and power of the "One about 
Whom Naught may be Said", or the Logos of our Solar 
Logos. The unit of consciousness is then perfect, as the 
Logos is perfect, and passes on to work paralleling that 
of the Solar Logos, building solar systems and himself be- 
coming a Solar Logos. Such is the great program and 
the opportunity reaching out before the sons of man, aye, 
and before every atom everywhere. 



CHAPTEE XVI. 



THE IMPABTING OF THE SECEETS. 



We now come to the consideration of the secrets com- 
mitted at the initiation ceremony to the initiate. It is 
apparent, of course, that only the fact of the secret, and 
an indication as to the matter with which it concerns it- 
self can be touched upon, and even this would be left un- 
mentioned were it not that a knowledge of the general out- 
line of the subject may inspire the applicant for initiation 
to a more careful study of such a subject and to a more 
diligent equipping of his mental body with information. 
Thereby (when in due course of time he stands before the 
Initiator) he will lose no time in utilising the acquired 
Secret. 

The seven- fold Secret. 

After the administration of the oath which pledges 
the initiate to inviolable secrecy, the newly-made initiate 
advances alone closer to the Hierophant; he then places 
his hand upon the lower end of the Eod of Initiation which 
is held in the centre by the Hierophant. The Three Who 
stand around the throne of office then place Their hands 
upon the glowing diamond which surmounts the rod, and 
when these five personalities are thus linked by the circu- 
lating energy emanating from the Eod, the Initiator con- 
fides to the initiate the secret. The reason for this is as 
follows: Each of the H\e initiations with which we are 
immediately concerned ( for the higher two, not being com- 



163 



164 THE SECEETS 

pulsory, are outside our preseut consideration) affects one 
of the five centres in man, 

1. The head, 

2. The heart, 

3. The throat, 

4. The solar plexus, 

5. The base of the spine, 

and reveals to him knowledge concerning the various types 
of force or energy by which the solar system is animated, 
and which reach him via a particular etheric centre. At 
the application of the rod his centres were affected in a 
particular fashion. By the impartation of the Secret, the 
reason is committed to his care, and that reason is demon- 
strated to him to be identical with that which necessarily 
produces some particular planetary manifestation, and 
which causes a certain specific greater cycle. 
It might be pointed out that: — 

1. Each secret concerns one or other of the seven 
great planes of the solar system. 

2. Each secret deals with, and is the enunciation of, 
one of the seven laws of nature. They therefore 

concern one or other of the basic evolutions of 
each planetary scheme. Each scheme embodies 
one of the laws as its primary law, and all its 
evolutions tend to demonstrate the perfection of 
that law with its six subsidiary mutations, these 
six differing in one particular in each case ac- 
cording to the primary law manifested. 

3. Bach secrel conveys a key to the nature of some 
particular planetary Logos, and consequently 
gives the clue to the characteristics of those 
Monads who are on that particular planetary ray. 
It is obvious how necessary such knowledge is to 



THE SECKETS 165 

the adept who seeks to work with the sons of men, 
and to manipulate the force currents affecting 
them and which they emanate. 

4. Each secret concerns some one ray or colour and 
gives the number, note, and the vibration which 
corresponds. 

These seven Secrets are simply short formulas, not 
of mantric value, such as in the case of the Sacred Word, 
but of a mathematical nature, precisely worded so as to 
convey the exact intent of the speaker. To the uninitiated 
they would look and sound like algebraical formulas, ex- 
cept that each is composed (when seen clairvoyantly) of 
an oval of a specific hue, according to the secret imparted, 
containing five peculiar hieroglyphics or symbols. One 
symbol contains the formula of the law concerned, another 
gives the planetary key and tone, a third deals with vibra- 
tion, whilst the fourth shows the number and department 
under which the ray concerned falls. The last hieroglyph 
gives one of the seven hierarchical keys by means of which 
the members of our planetary hierarchy can link up with 
the solar. This is evidently very vague and ambiguous infor- 
mation, but it will serve to show that, as in the case of the 
Words, apprehension had to involve two senses, so in the 
cognition of the Secrets the two senses again come into 
play, and the Secret is both heard and appears symbolically 
to the inner eye. 

It will now be apparent why so much stress is laid 
upon the study of symbols, and why students are urged 
to ponder and meditate upon the cosmic and systemic 
signs. It prepares them for the grasp and inner retention 
of the, symbols and formulas which embody the knowledge 
whereby they can eventually work. These formulas are 
based upon nine symbols which are now recognised : — 



166 THE SECKETS 

1. The cross in its varying forms. 

2. The Lotns. 

3. The triangle. 

4. The cube. 

5. The sphere and the point. 

6. Eight animal forms, the goat, the bull, the ele- 
phant, the man, the dragon, the bear, the lion, and 
the dog. 

7. The line. 

8. Certain signs of the Zodiac, hence the need for 
the study of astrology. 

9. The cup, or the holy grail. 

All these symbols allied, interwoven, or taken in part, 
are combined to express one or other of the seven Secrets. 
The initiate has to recognise them by sight as well as to 
hear them, and by an effort of the will to imprint them ir- 
revocably upon his memory. This he is aided to do in three 
ways : — First, by a long prior training in observation ; this 
can be begun here and now by all aspirants, and as they 
learn to imprint details accurately upon their memory 
they are laying the foundation for that acute instantane- 
ous apprehension of that which is shown them by the 
Hierophant; secondly, by having cultivated within them- 
selves the power to visualise again that which has once 
been seen. It will be apparent here why the emphasis has 
been laid by all Avise teachers of meditation upon the 
faculty of the careful building of mental pictures. The 
<i i in lias been two-fold: — 

a. To teach the student to visualise his thought 
forms accurately, so that when he begins to create 
consciously he may lose no time in inaccurate 
( ransformal ion. 

b. To enable him to picture again accurately the im- 



THE SECKETS 167 

parted secret, so that it may instantly be of use 

to him whenever needed. 
Finally, by the strongly applied will of the other four 
Personalities who are holding the Eod at the same time as 
the initiate. Their trained intense mental concentration 
greatly facilitates his apprehension. 

In the case of human evolution certain types of force 
are generated, dealt with, assimilated, and used, at first 
unconsciously, and finally with full intelligence. 

a. In the Hall of Ignorance the force or energy of 
Brahma (the activity and intelligence of sub- 
stance) is that mostly dealt with, and the man has 
to learn the meaning of activity based on: — 

a. Inherent energy. 

b. Absorbed energy. 

c. Group energy. 

d. Material energy, or that which is hidden in 
physical plane matter. 

b. In the Hall of Learning he becomes aware of, and 
uses the energy of the second aspect in form build- 
ing, in social relations, and in family affiliations. 
He comes to the recognition of sex and its rela- 
tions, but as yet views this force as something to 
be controlled, but not consciously and construc- 
tively utilised. 

c. In the Hall of Wisdom he comes to the knowledge 
of the first aspect of energy, the dynamic use of 
will in sacrifice, and to him is then committed the 
key to the three-fold mystery of energy. This en- 
ergy in its three-fold aspect he became aware of, 
in the other two Halls. At the third initiation, 
and at the fourth and fifth, the three keys to the 
three mysteries are given to him. 

The key to the mystery sensed in the first 



168 THE SECRETS 

Hall, the mystery of Brahma, is handed to him, 
and he can then unlock the hidden energies of 
atomic substance. The key to the mystery of sex, 
or of the pairs of opposites, is thrust into his 
hand, and he can then unlock the hidden forces 
of the will aspect. The dynamo of the solar sys- 
tem is shown to him, — if it might be so expressed 
— and the intricacies of the mechanism revealed. 

The three solar Mysteries. 

The three mysteries of the solar system are : — 

1. The mystery of Electricity. The mystery of 
Brahma. The secret of the third aspect. It is 
latent in the physical sun. 

2. The mystery of Polarity, or r of the universal sex 
impulse. The secret of the second aspect. It is 
latent in the Heart of the Sun, or the subjective 
Sun. 

3. The mystery of Fire itself, or the dynamic central 
systemic force. The secret of the first aspect. It 
is latent in the central spiritual sun. 

Their sequential revelation. 

The secrets, as imparted sequentially to the initiate, 
are roughly three in number, though within them may be 
found Lesser mysteries which are earlier revealed. At the 
third initiation the first of the three fundamental secrets 
ot the solar system is imparted to the initiate, immediate- 
ly after he has taken the oath. This we might, for lack of 
a better term, call "the secret of electricity." It concerns 
the phenomena of the dense objective manifestation of the 
Logos. It would be wise here for the student to remem- 



THE SECRETS 169 

ber that the three planes of the three worlds, physical, 
astral, and mental, form the dense physical body of the 
solar Logos, whilst the fonr higher form His etheric body. 
Students are apt to forget that our seven planes are the 
seven sub-planes of the cosmic physical. This has a very 
definite bearing on the secret of electricity. This is why 
the secret is not revealed till the third initiation, and is 
prepared for by the impartation of two lesser secrets which 
concern the physical and astral planes, and which are im- 
parted at the first two initiations by the Boddhisattva. 

Electrical phenomena are scientifically recognised as 
dual in natural, but the inherent triplicity of electricity 
is as yet but a matter for speculation for modern science. 
The fact that it is triple is demonstrated to the initiate at 
the first initiation, and the secret of how to balance forces 
on the physical plane, and thereby produce equilibrium, is 
revealed to him at the first initiation. This secret like- 
wise puts him in touch with certain of the builders on the 
physical plane — that is, on the etheric levels — and he can 
then produce physical plane phenomena should he deem 
it wise. This he seldom does, as the results gained thereby 
are practically unimportant and he wastes not energy in 
this manner. The workers with the involutionary forces, 
the brothers of darkness, employ this method for the start- 
ling and the enthralling of the unwary. Not thus work 
the brothers of humanity. 

The secret of the coherence of the atom is revealed to 
the initiate, and he then is in a position to study the micro- 
cosm under the law of correspondences in a new and il- 
luminating manner. Similarly, through this revelation 
concerning the densest part of the logohf body, he can as- 
certain much concerning the previous solar system, and the 
facts anent the first round of our scheme. This secret is 
also called "the mystery of matter". 



170 THE SECRETS 

At the second initiation "the secret of the sea" is un- 
folded to him, and through this revelation two subjects of 
profound interest become clarified to his inner vision. 
They are : — 

a. The mystery of the astral light. 

b. The law of karma. 

He is, after this, in a position to do two things, with- 
out which he cannot work off that which hinders, and thus 
achieve liberation; he can read the akashic records 
and ascertain the past, thereby enabling himself to work 
intelligently in the present, and he can begin to balance 
his karma, to work off his obligations, and to understand 
how karma in the three worlds can be negated. The re- 
lation of that hierarchy of spiritual beings who are con- 
nected with the law of karma as it affects man, is demon- 
strated to him, and he knows with first-hand knowledge 
that the lords of karma are no myth, or symbolical units, 
but are highly intelligent entities who wield the law for the 
benefit of humanity, and thus enable men to become fully 
self-conscious and self-reliant in the occult sense, and to 
become creators through perfected knowledge. 

At the third initiation "the secret of fohat" is given 
to him, and then the mystery of the three-fold body of the 
triple Logos is his, and the why of the phenomena of the 
dense liquid and gaseous bodies of the Supreme Being is 
unfolded before his amazed vision. The two secrets pre- 
viously imparted, and the knowledge which they gave hav- 
ing been utilised, the initiate is now in a position to profit 
by ili is greater revelation, and to understand somewhat 
the following facts: — 

1. The 1 creative process of thought form building. 

2. The transmission of energy from (lie Ego to the 
physical body via the force centres on (he various 
planes. 



THE SECRETS 171 

3. The uprising of kundalini, its geometrical progres- 
sion, and its vivification of all the centres. 

By the knowledge thus imparted, and the progress 
which the initiate has made in the study of the law of 
analogy, he can comprehend the manipulation of the same 
forces on a vastly larger scale in the planetary scheme and 
in the solar system. The method of development in the 
three earlier rounds is revealed to him, and he understands, 
practically as well as theoretically, the evolutionary 
process in its earlier stages. The key to the three lower 
kingdoms of nature is in his hands, and certain ideas anent 
the subject of polarity, of at-one-ment, and essential union, 
are beginning to come within his range of consciousness, 
only waiting for the fourth initiation to complete the 
revelation. 

This secret of electricity, which is essentially triple 
in its nature, deals with the Brahma or third aspect, and is 
called sometimes by the following names : — 

1. The Secret of Brahma. 

2. The Revelation of the Mother. 

3. The Secret of Fohatic Force. 

4. The Mystery of the Creator. 

5. The Secret of the Three Who issued from the First 
(solar system), 

and also by four mystic phrases conveying much light to 
the intuition: 

6. The Boat of Mystery which Ploughs the Ocean. 

7. The Key to the Divine Storehouse. 

8. The Light that Guides through the triple caves 
of Darkness. 

9. The Clue to the Energy uniting Fire and Water. 
In all these names much information will come to the stu- 
dent who carefully ponders them, remembering that they 
deal with the Brahma aspect in its lowest manifestation 



172 THE SECRETS 

and with the three worlds of human endeavour, and thus 
meditating, the student must relate this present solar sys- 
tem to the preceding one, in which the Brahma aspect 
dominated, as the Vishnu, or consciousness aspect dom- 
inates in this. 

The initiate, through the knowledge imparted, is now 
in a position to understand his own triple lower nature, 
and therefore to balance it in relation to the higher, to 
read the records and understand his place within the 
group, to manipulate the forces in the three worlds and 
thereby effect liberation for himself, thus helping the ends 
of evolution, and to co-operate intelligently with the plans 
of the Planetary Logos as they may be revealed to him 
stage by stage. He can now wield power, and becomes a 
centre of energy in a greatly increased degree, being able 
to dispense or retract force currents. The moment a man 
becomes consciously powerful on the mental plane, his 
power for good is a hundredfold increased. 

At the fourth initiation another of the great secrets 
is revealed to him. It is called "the mystery of polarity", 
and the clue to the significance of sex in every department 
of nature on all the planes is given to him. It is not pos- 
sible to say much along these lines. All that can be done 
is to enumerate some of the subjects to which it gives the 
clue, adding to this the information that in our planetary 
scheme, owing to the point in evolution of our own Plane- 
tary Logos, this secret is the most vital. Our Tlanetary 
Logos is at the stage wherein He is consciously seeking the 
at-one-ment with his polar opposite, another Planetary 
Logos. The subjects on which this secret throws a flood 
of light are: — 

a. Sex on the physical plane. It gives us a key to 
the mystery of the separation of the sexes in 
Lemurian days. 



THE SECRETS 173 

b. The balancing of forces in all departments of 
nature. 

c. The clue as to which scheme forms with ours a 
duality. 

d. The true name of our Planetary Logos and His 
relation to the Solar Logos. 

e. "The Marriage of the Lamb" and the problem of 
the heavenly bride. A clue to this lies in the solar 
system of S which must be read astrological- 

iy. 

f. The mystery of the Gemini, and the connection of 
our particular Planetary Logos with that constel- 
lation. 

On a lesser scale, and in relation to the microcosm, the 
following subjects are illuminated when the initiate re- 
ceives the second great secret, or the fourth which in- 
cludes the earlier lesser ones : — 

g. The processes of at-one-ment in the different king- 
doms of nature. The bridging between the king- 
doms is shown him, and he sees the unity of the 
scheme. 

h. The method of egoic at-one-ment is seen clearly 
revealed, and the antakarana is shown in its real 
nature, and having been thus revealed, is dis- 
pensed with. 

i. The essential unity existing between the Ego and 
the personality is seen. 

j. The relation of the two evolutions, human and 
deva, is no longer a mystery, but their position 
in the body of the Heavenly Man is seen to be a 
fact. 

One could go on emphasising the multiplicity of mat- 
ters which the mystery of polarity, when revealed, makes 



174 THE SECEETS 

clear to the initiate, but the above suffices. This secret 
concerns primarily the Vishnu, or second aspect. It sums 
up in one short phrase the totality of knowledge gained 
in the Hall of Wisdom, as the earlier secrets summed up 
the totality achieved in the Hall of Learning. It deals 
with consciousness and its development by and through the 
matter aspect. It concerns literally the unification of the 
self and the not-self till they are verily and indeed one. 
At the fifth initiation the great secret which concerns 
the fire or spirit aspect is revealed to the wondering and 
amazed Master, and He realises in a sense incomprehen- 
sible to man the fact that all is fire and fire is all. This 
secret may be said to reveal to the initiate that which 
makes clear to Him : — 

a. The secret name of the Planetary Logos, thus re- 
vealing one syllable of the name of the Solar 
Logos. 

b. The work and method of the destroyer aspect of 
divinity. 

c. The processes whereby obscuration and pralaya 
are induced. 

d. The mathematical formula which sums up all the 
cycles of manifestation. 

e. The triple nature of fire, and the effect of the great 
fire upon the lesser. 

As this Shiva, or first, aspect is the one which will ar- 
rive at perfection, or, rather, come within the reach of 
comprehension within the next solar system, it profits not 
to continue considering this secret. The following tabu- 
lation may make the whole matter clearer to the mind of 
the student : — 



THE SECEETS 



175 



Secret of 



Fohat. 



Polarity. 



Fire. 



Initiation. 


Logos 


Source of 


Planes 




concerned. 


Energy. 




Third. 


Brahma. 


Physical 


Seven. 




Creator. 


Sun. 


Six. 
Five. 


Fourth. 


Vishnu. 


Subjective 


Four. 




Preserver. 


Sun. 


Three. 


Fifth. 


Shiva. 


Central 


Two. 




Destroyer. 


Spiritual 
Sun. 





As the student will observe, the source of the par- 
ticular energy concerned is one aspect of the sun. 

At the sixth and seventh initiations two more Secrets 
are revealed, one — a lesser Secret — preparing the way for 
the revelation of the fourth. Only four Secrets of a major 
order are revealed to initiates on this planet, and herein 
lies the clue to our position in the scheme of solar evolu- 
tion. There are only five Secrets altogether, of a major 
kind, revealed in this solar system, owing to the fact that 
this is a system wherein pre-eminently the fifth principle 
of mind forms the basis of unfoldment. This fifth revela- 
tion is only imparted to those who pass to the schemes of 
synthesis. 



CHAPTER XVII 

DIVERSITIES OF INITIATIONS 

Major and minor Initiations. 

In dealing with this question of the diversities of in- 
itiations it may be of value to the student to remember 
that the great moment in which a man passed out of the 
animal kingdom into the human, which is called in many 
occult textbooks the "moment of individualisation", was 
in itself one of the greatest of all initiations. Individuali- 
sation is the conscious apprehension by the self of its re- 
lation to all that constitutes the not-self, and in this great 
initiatory process, as in all the later ones, the awakening 
of consciousness is preceded by a period of gradual develop- 
ment; the awakening is instantaneous at the moment of 
self realisation for the first time, and is always succeeded 
by another period of gradual evolution. This period of 
gradual evolution, in its turn, leads up to a later crisis 
which is called Initiation. In the one case, we have initia- 
tion into self-conscious existence, in the other, initiation 
into spiritual existence. 

These realisations, or apprehended expansions of con- 
sciousness, are under natural law, and come in due course 
of time to every soul without exception. In a lesser degree 
they are undergone daily by every human being, as his 
mental grip of life and experience gradually grows, but 
they only become initiations into the wisdom (as differen- 
tiated from expansions of knowledge) when the knowledge 
gained is : — 

a. Consciously sought for 

I). Self-sacrificingly applied to life 

c Willingly used in service for others 

(1. Intelligently utilised on the side of evolution 

L76 



DIVERSITIES OF INITIATIONS 177 

Only souls of a certain amount of experience and de- 
velopment do all these four things consistently and stead- 
ily, and thus transmute knowledge into wisdom, and ex- 
perience into quality. The ordinary average man trans- 
mutes ignorance into knowledge, and experience into 
faculty. It would be helpful if all of us pondered upon the 
difference between inherent quality and innate faculty; 
one is the very nature of buddhi, or wisdom, and the other 
of manas, or mind. The union of these two, through a 
man's conscious effort, results in a major initiation. 

These results are brought about in two ways : — First, by 
a man's own unaided effort, which leads him in due course 
of time to find his own centre of consciousness, to be guided 
and led by the inner ruler or Ego entirely, and to unravel, 
through strenuous effort and painful endeavor, the mys- 
tery of the universe, which is concealed in material sub- 
stance energised by Fohat. Secondly, by a man's efforts, 
supplemented by the intelligent loving co-operation of the 
Knowers of the race, the Masters of the Wisdom. In this 
case the process is quicker, for a man comes under instruc- 
tion — should he so desire — and subsequently, when he has 
on his part provided the right conditions, there is placed 
at his disposal the knowledge and the help of Those Who 
have achieved. In order to avail himself of this help he 
has to work with the material of his own body, building 
right material into an ordered form, and has therefore to 
learn discrimination in the choice of matter, and to un- 
derstand the laws of vibration and of construction. This 
entails the mastering, in some measure, of the laws that 
govern the Brahma and Vishnu aspect ; it means a faculty 
of vibrating with atomic accuracy, and the development of 
the quality of attractiveness, which is the basis of the 
building, or Vishnu aspect. 

He has to equip, also, his mental body so that it may be 



178 DIVERSITIES OF INITIATIONS 

an explainer and transmitter, and not a hindering factor 
as now. He mnst likewise develop gronp activity, and 
learn to work in a co-ordinated manner with other units. 
These are the main things that a man must accomplish 
along the path of initiation, but when he has worked at 
them, he will find the Way, it will be made clear to him, 
and he will then join the ranks of the Knowers. 

Another point to be remembered is that this effort to 
make people co-operate intelligently with the Hierarchy, 
and to train them to join the ranks of the Lodge, is, as 
earlier pointed out, a special effort (inaugurated in At- 
lantean days and continued to this time) made by the 
Hierarchy of the planet, and is very largely in the nature 
of an experiment. The method whereby a man assumes 
conscious place in the body of a Heavenly Man differs in 
different planetary schemes ; the Heavenly Man, Who uses 
our planetary scheme as His body of manifestation, 
chooses to work in this particular way during this particu- 
lar period for His own specific purposes ; it is part of the 
process of vitalising one of His centres, and of linking up 
His heart centre with its connection in the head. As 
other of His centres are vitalised, and come into full ac- 
tivity, other methods of stimulating the cells in His body 
(the deva and human monads) may be followed, but for 
the x>resent the cosmic Rod of Initiation, which is applied 
to a Heavenly Man, in much the same manner as the lesser 
rods are applied to man, is being utilised in such a way 
that it produces that specific stimulation which demon- 
strates in the activity of man on the Path of Probation 
and the Path of Initiation. 

Therefore mail must recognise the cyclic nature of in- 
itiation, and tin* place of the process in time and space. 
This is a special period of activity in the cycle of a Heav- 
enly Man, and it works out on our planet as a vast period 



DIVERSITIES OF INITIATIONS 179 

of trial or initiatory testing; it is, nevertheless, equally a 
period of vitalisation and of opportunity. 

We must also endeavor to realise the fact that initia- 
tion may be seen taking place on the three planes in the 
three worlds, and the thought must ever be borne in mind 
of the relative value and place of the unit, or cell, in the 
body of a Heavenly Man. The point must here be empha- 
sized that the major initiations, or the initiations of man- 
as, are those taken on the mental plane and in the causal 
body. They mark the point in evolution where the unit 
recognises in fact, and not only in theory, his identity with 
the divine Manasaputra in Whose body he has place. In- 
itiations can be taken on the physical plane, on the astral, 
and on the lower mental, but they are not considered ma- 
jor initiations, and are not a conscious, co-ordinated, uni- 
fied stimulation that involves the whole man. 

A man, therefore, may take initiation on each plane, 
but only those initiations which mark his transference 
from a lower four into a higher three are considered so 
in the real sense of the word, and only those in which a 
man transfers his consciousness from the lower quarter- 
nary into the triad are major initiations. We have, there- 
fore, three grades of initiations : — 

First, initiations in which a man transfers his con- 
sciousness from the lower four subplanes of the phy- 
sical, astral, and mental planes respectively, into the 
higher three subplanes. When this is done upon the 
mental plane a man is then known technically as a 
disciple, an initiate, an adept. He uses then each of 
the three higher subplanes of the mental plane as a 
point from which to work his way completely out of 
the three worlds of human manifestation into the 
triad. Therefore it is apparent that what one might 
consider as lesser initiations can be taken on the phy- 



180 DIVERSITIES OF INITIATIONS 

sical and astral planes, in the conscious control of 
their three higher subplanes. These are true initia- 
tions, but do not make a man what is technically un- 
derstood as a Master of the Wisdom. He is simply 
an adept of a lesser degree. 

Secondly, initiations in which a man transfers his 
consciousness from plane to plane, instead of from 
subplane to subplane. Herein comes a point to be 
carefully recognised. A true Master of the Wisdom 
has not only taken the lesser initiations referred to 
above, but has also taken the five steps involved in 
the conscious control of the five planes of human evo- 
lution. It remains for him then to take the two final 
initiations which make him a Chohan of the sixth de- 
gree, and a Buddha, before that control is extended 
to the remaining two planes of the solar system. It 
is obvious, therefore, that it is correct to speak of the 
seven initiations, yet it would be nevertheless equal- 
ly correct to enumerate five, ten, or twelve initiations. 
The matter is complicated for occult students, owing 
to certain mysterious factors about which they can 
naturally know nothing, and which must remain to 
them, as yet, utterly incomprehensible. These factors 
are founded in the individuality of the Heavenly Man 
Himself, and involve such mysteries as His particu- 
lar karma, the aim He may have in view for any par- 
ticular cycle, and the turning of the attention of the 
cosmic ego of a Eeavenly Man to His reflection, the 
evolving Heavenly Man of a solar system. 

A further factor may also be found in certain periods 
of stimulation, mid of increased vitalisation, such as 
a cosmic initiation produces. These outside effects 
naturally produce results in the units or cells in the 



DIVEKSITIES OF INITIATIONS 181 

body of the Heavenly Man, and lead often to events 
unforeseen and apparently inexplicable. 
Thirdly, initiations in which a Heavenly Man may 
take either a minor or a major initiation, thereby in- 
volving His entire nature. For instance, when in- 
dividualisation took place during the Lemurian, or 
the third root race, and the human family in this 
cycle definitely came into manifestation, it signified 
a major initiation for our Heavenly Man. The pres- 
ent stimulation in hierarchical effort is leading up to 
a lesser initiation. Each great cycle sees a major 
initiation of a Heavenly Man taken on one or other 
of the globes, and herein again complication lies, and 
much food for thought. 

To the three above points we might also briefly add 
that of the coming in, or passing out, of any particular 
ray. The little that can be said upon this point, which is 
one of the greatest difficulty, might be summed up in the 
following three statements: First, that initiations taken 
on the four minor rays rank not in equality with initiation 
taken upon the major three. This is complicated some- 
what by the fact that within the planetary scheme, during 
cyclic evolution, a minor ray may be temporarily regard- 
ed as a major ray. For instance, at this particular time 
in our planetary scheme, the seventh ray of ceremonial 
law or order is regarded as a major ray, being a ray of 
synthesis, and one on which the Mahachohan is blending 
His work. Secondly, that the first three initiations are 
taken upon the ray of the Ego, and link a man up with the 
great White Lodge; the last two are taken upon the ray 
of the Monad, and have a definite effect upon the path for 
service that will be chosen later by the adept. This state- 
ment must be linked up with that earlier made, which 
stated that the fifth initiation made a man a member of the 



182 DIVERSITIES OF INITIATIONS 

Greater Lodge, or Brotherhood, on Sirius, being literally 
the first of the Sirian initiations. The fourth initiation is 
the synthesis of the Initiations of the Threshhold in the 
Sirian Lodge. Finally, according to the ray on which 
initiation is taken, so very largely depends the subse- 
quent path of service. 

The day of opportunity. 

The question might here be asked wherein this infor- 
mation is of value to the student. In illustration of this 
it would be wise if students would ponder the significance 
of the coming in of the present ray of ceremonial law or 
magic. It is the ray that deals with the building forces 
of nature, that concerns itself with the utilisation of the 
form intelligently by the life aspect. It is largely the ray 
of executive work, with the object of building, co-ordinat- 
ing and producing cohesion in the four lower kingdoms of 
nature. It is distinguished largely by the energy which 
manifests itself in ritual, but this word ritual must not be 
narrowed down to its present use in connection with Ma- 
sonic, or religious ritual. Its application is far wider than 
this, and includes the methods of organisation which are 
demonstrated in all civilised communities, such as in the 
world of commerce and of finance, and the great business 
organisations everywhere to be seen. Above all, its inter- 
est lies for us in the fact that it is the ray which brings op- 
portunity to the occidental races, and through the medium 
of this life force of executive organisation, of government 
by rule and order, by rhythm and by ritual, will come the 
time wherein the occidental races (with their active, con- 
crete mind, and their vast business capacity) can take 
initiation, — an initiation, we must remember, upon a ray 
which is temporarily recognised as a major ray. A large 



DIVERSITIES OF INITIATIONS 183 

number of the initiates and those who have obtained adept- 
ship in the last cycle, have been orientals and those in 
Hindu bodies. This cycle has been dominated by the sixth 
ray, which is just passing out, and the two preceding. In 
the preservation of equilibrium the time now comes when 
a period of attainment by occidentals will be seen, and this 
upon a ray suited to their type of mind. It is interesting 
to note that the oriental type attains its objective through 
meditation, with a modicum of executive organisation and 
ritual, and that the occidental will achieve largely through 
the organisation which lower mind produces, and a type 
of meditation of which intense business concentration 
might be considered an illustration. The one-pointed ap- 
plication of the mind by a European or American business 
man might be regarded as a type of meditation. In the 
purification of motive lying back of this application will 
come, for the occidental, his day of opportunity. 

By availing themselves of the present day of oppor- 
tunity, and by conformity to the rules for treading the 
Path, will come to many in the west the chance to take 
these further steps. That opportunity will be found by 
the man who is ready in the place where he is, and among 
the familiar circumstances of his daily life. It will be 
found in attention to duty, in the surmounting of tests and 
trials, and in that inner adherence to the voice of the God 
within, which is the mark of every applicant for initiation. 
Initiation involves the very thing that is done from day 
to day by any who are consciously endeavoring to train 
themselves : — the next point to be reached, and the next 
bit of work to be accomplished is pointed out by the Mas- 
ter (either the God within or a man's Master if he is con- 
sciously aware of Him) and the reason is given. Then the 
Teacher stands aside and watches the aspirant achieve. 
As He watches, He recognises points of crisis, where the 



181 DIVERSITIES OF INITIATIONS 

application of a test will do one of two things, focalise and 
disperse any remaining unconquered evil — if that term 
might here be used — and demonstrate to the disciple both 
his weakness and his strength. In the great initiations, 
the same procedure can be seen, and the ability of the dis- 
ciple to pass these greater tests and stages is dependent 
upon his ability to meet and surmount the daily lesser ones. 
"He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also 
in much", is an occult statement of fact, and should char- 
acterise the whole daily activity of the true aspirant; the 
"much" is surmounted and passed, because it is regarded 
simply as an intensification of the normal, and no initiate 
has ever passed the great test of initiation who has not 
accustomed himself to pass lesser tests every day of his 
life; tests then come to be regarded as normal, and are 
considered, when encountered, as part of the usual fabric 
of his life. When this attitude of mind is attained and 
held, there exists no surprise or possible defeat. 



CHAPTEE XVIII 
THE SEVEN PATHS 



As might be expected, very little has appeared in our 
literature as to the seven Paths which stretch before the 
man who has reached the fifth initiation. It is obviously 
impossible, and also unnecessary, to convey to our mind 
any impression as to the significance of these paths, or as 
to the attributes needed for their treading. As time pro- 
gresses and the race reaches a higher point of develop- 
ment, we shall be able to comprehend more, but under the 
law of economy it would be fruitless effort for the teachers 
of the race to instruct us on the characteristics needed 
for the treading of the seven Paths, before we have as yet 
apprehended or developed those required for traversing 
the probationary Path, not to mention the Path of initia- 
tion. 

One general fact we do know, and that is, that before 
these Paths can be trodden, a man must be a Master of the 
Wisdom, he must be a Brother of Compassion, and he must 
be able, through intelligence and love, to wield the law. 
Our part at this time is to fit ourselves for the treading of 
the Path of initiation, by the discipline of the probation- 
ary Path, by the careful direction of the life, by obedience 
to the law as understood, and by service to the race. When 
we have attained liberation, then these Paths will stretch 
before us, and the one that we should tread will become ap- 
parent to us. All in this system works under the great 
law of attraction, and therefore, according to our vibra- 
tion, according to our colour and tone, will depend, in all 
probability, our choice. The greater free will of the cosmic 
system is under limitation, just as is the free will of the 

185 



186 THE SEVEN PATHS 

system of which we are a part, and the free will of man 
himself. Upon innate quality will depend the direction of 
our further progress. 

These seven Paths might be enumerated as follows, 
and certain deductions, based on the law of correspon- 
dence, might be given out, provided always that we re- 
member that words serve more to blind than to elucidate, 
and that the briefest details only are possible. 

1. The Path of earth service. 

This is the Path that keeps a man linked to the Hier- 
archy that is pledged to the service of our planet, and to 
the help of its evolutions. It comprises those who work 
under the Lord of the World in the seven groups into 
which our Masters of the Wisdom are divided. Not so 
many Masters follow this Path as some of the others, and 
only enough are permitted to do so to carry on planetary 
evolution satisfactorily. More is known about this path 
than about the others, and more will be found out as mem- 
bers of our humanity fit themselves to contact the Brother- 
hood. Their field of employ, Their methods of work, will 
eventually become exoteric knowledge, and as the seven 
groups are recognised and known, schools of development 
for the filling of posts in these groups will be the logical 
sequence. 

2. The Path of magnetic work. 

Those who do the work of wielding forces, or electrical 
magnetism lor the use of the Great Ones on all the planes, 
I kiss to this Path. They wield the elemental formative 
energy, manipulating mailer of every density and vibra- 
tion. Greal waves of ideas and singing currents of public 



THE SEVEN PATHS 187 

opinion on astral levels, as well as on the higher levels 
where the Great Ones work, are manipulated by them. A 
large number of fifth ray people, those who have the ray 
of concrete knowledge for their monadic ray, pass to this 
line of endeavor. The inherent quality in the type of the 
Monad settles usually the line of activity. The karma of 
the fifth ray is one of the factors which produces this. 
These Monads work with Fohat, and must, to the end of 
the greater manvantara. They have their eventual posi- 
tion on the cosmic mental plane, but as yet the capacity 
for abstract thought is so little developed that it is impos- 
sible for us to comprehend the significance of this expres- 
sion. 

3. The Path of training for planetary Logoi. 

This Path is trodden by those who will take up the 
work of the seven planetary Logoi of the next system, and 
of the forty-nine sub-planetary Logoi, Their assistants, and 
of certain other Entities working in that particular de- 
partment. There will be seven systems, though we are 
only concerned with the three major systems, of which our 
present system is the second major system. Each Chohan 
of a ray takes a certain number of initiates of the sixth 
initiation and trains them specially for this work; special 
aptitude in colour and sound predisposes the choice, and 
the ability to work with 'psyche', or the spirits in evolu- 
tion marks a man out for this high post. We might say 
that the planetary Logoi are the divine psychologists, and 
therefore in the training for this post psychology is the 
basic subject, though it is a psychology inconceivable as 
yet to us. Every planetary Logos has, in His own special 
planet, schools for the development of subordinate Logoi, 
and there trains Them for this high office, giving Them op- 



188 THE SEVEN PATHS 

portunity for wide experience. Even the Logoi Themselves 
progress onward, and Their places must be taken. 

4. The Path to Sirius, 

Very little may be communicated about this Path, and 
the curiously close relation between it and the Pleiades 
can only be mentioned, further speculation being impos- 
sible. The bulk of liberated humanity goes this way, and 
the prospect holds out glorious possibilities. The seven 
stars of the Pleiades are the goal for the seven types, and 
this is hinted at in the Book of Job, in the words, "Canst 
thou bind the sweet influence of the Pleiades?'' In the 
mystery of this influence, and in the secret of the sun Sir- 
ius, are hidden the facts of our cosmic evolution, and in- 
cidentally, therefore, of our solar system. 

5. The ray Path. 

It is difficult to know by what other name to call this 
Tath, as so little is known about it. In treading it, a man 
stays on his own ray, and works thereon in the various 
kingdoms on all the planes, carrying out the behests of the 
Lord of the World, and working under His direction. It 
carries a man to every part of the solar system, yet links 
him definitely with the synthetic ray. It is a very com- 
plex path, for it necessitates a capacity for the most intri- 
cate mathematics, and an ability to geometrise in a man- 
ner incomprehensible to our three-dimensional brains. 
This path is taken by the man to whom the law of vibration 
is of profound importance. He works first in the council 
chamber of* the Lord of the World at Shamballa, manipu- 



THE SEVEN PATHS 189 

lating the law of vibration on his own ray. Later he will 
have his habitat on the planet corresponding to his own 
ray, and not on the earth unless he is on the ray of the 
planetary Logos holding sway upon the earth. Later again 
as his evolution progresses, he will pass to the sun; then 
having mastered all connected with vibration in this sys- 
tem he will pass to the cosmic system, going off his own ray, 
(which is but a subsidiary ray of one cosmic ray), on to 
the corresponding cosmic ray. 

Just as the evolution of man in this system is fivefold, 
so in the above we have enumerated the principal five 
Paths from which a Master has to choose. The remaining 
two can only be touched upon still more briefly, for they 
hold but a very few of the evolving sons of men, owing to 
the high point of attainment necessitated for their en- 
trance, and the fact that those who enter upon them pass 
out of the system altogether. They do not lead to Sirius, 
as do some of the other Paths. It will be noted that four 
groups remain in the system, passing eventually, in dim 
and distant aeons, to the cosmic planes. One group 
passes directly to Sirius, and the remaining two groups 
pass directly after initiation to the cosmic planes, with no 
period of intermediate work on earth, in the system, or on 
Sirius. These two Paths are: — 

6. The Path the Logos Himself is on. 

It will have become apparent to all occult students 
who have studied with care the world processes in the 
light of the law of correspondences, that the Logos on the 
cosmic planes is evolving inner cosmic vision, just as man 
in his lesser degree is aiming at the same vision in the 
system. This might be called the development of the cos- 



190 THE SEVEN PATHS 

mic third eye. In the physical plane structure of the eye 
lies hid the secret and in its study may come some revela- 
tion of the mystery. 

A certain part of the eye is the nucleus of sight, and 
the apparatus of vision itself; the remainder of the eye 
acts as a protecting shell, and both parts are required, 
and neither can exist without the other. So in this greater 
case, only the analogy exists on such high levels that 
words only blur and dim the truth. Certain of the sons 
of men, a nucleus who reached a very high initiation in 
the previous solar system, formed an esoteric group 
around the Logos when He decided upon further progress. 
In consequence He formed this system, cosmic desire for 
incarnation driving Him on. This esoteric group remains 
with the Logos on the atomic, or first plane of the system, 
on the subjective inner side, and it corresponds, in an oc- 
cult sense, to the pupil of the eye. The real home of these 
great Entities is upon the cosmic fiuddhic plane. 

Gradually, by dint of hard effort, certain Masters have 
qualified Themselves, or are qualifying Themselves, to 
take the place of the original members of the group, per- 
mitting of Their return to a cosmic centre around which 
our system, and the greater system of Sirius revolve. 
Only one adept here and there has the necessary qualifica- 
tions, for it involves the development of a certain type of 
response to cosmic vibration. It means a specialising in 
the inner sight, and the development of a certain measure 
of cosmic vision. More of the deva evolution pass to this 
path than do the human. Human beings pass to it via the 
deva evolution, which can be entered by transference to 
the fifth Path, the ray Path. On this latter Path, the two 
evolutions can merge, and from the fifth Path the sixth 
inn be entered. 



THE SEVEN PATHS 191 

7. The Path of absolute Sonship. 

This Sonship is a correspondence on the highest plane 
to that grade of discipleship which we call "Son of the Mas- 
ter." It is the Sonship to a Being higher than our Logos, 
of whom we may not speak. It is the great controlling 
Path of Karma. The Lipika Lords are on this Path, and 
all who are fitted for that line of work, and who are close 
to the Logos in a personal intimate sense, pass to the Path 
of absolute Sonship. It is the Path of the special intimates 
of the Logos, and into Their hands He has put the working 
out of karma in the solar system. They know His wishes, 
His will and His aim, and to Them He entrusts the carry- 
ing out of His behests. This group, associated with the 
Logos, form a special group linked to a still higher Logos. 



CHAPTER XIX. 
RULES FOR APPLICANTS 

There are certain aphorisms and injunctions which 
the applicant for initiation needs to study and obey. 
There is a great distinction between the terms 'aspirant 
to the Path' and 'applicant for initiation'. He who as- 
pires and strives towards discipleship is in no way pledged 
to the same specific attitude ^nd discipline as is the appli- 
cant for initiation, and he can, if he so choose, take as long 
as he desires in the treading of the Probationary Path. 
The man who seeks initiation is in a different position, and 
having once made application has to bring his life under 
a definite rule, and a strict regime which is only optional 
to the disciple. 

The rules given here are fourteen in number, and are 
gathered from a series of instructions compiled for those 
who seek to take the first initiation. 

RULES FOR APPLICANTS 

Rule 1 

Let the disciple search within the heart's deep cave. 
If there the fire burns bright, warming his brother 
yet heating not himself, the hour has come for mak- 
ing application to stand before the door. 

When love for all beings, irrespective of who they 
may be, is beginning to be a realised fact in the heart of a 
disciple, and yet nevertheless love for himself exists not, 
then comes the indication that he is nearing the portal of 
initiation, and may make the necessary preliminary 
pledges. These are necessitated before his Master hands 
in his name as a candidate for initiation. If he cares not 



192 



RULES FOR APPLICANTS 193 

for the suffering and pain of the lower self, if it is imma- 
terial to him whether happiness comes his way or not, if 
the sole purpose of his life is to serve and save the world, 
and if his brother's need is for him of greater moment 
than his own, then is the fire of love irradiating his being, 
and the world can warm itself at his feet. This love has 
to be a practical, tested manifestation, and not just a 
theory, nor simply an impractical ideal and a pleasing 
sentiment. It is something that has grown in the trials 
and tests of life, so that the primary impulse of the life is 
towards self-sacrifice and the immolation of the lower na- 
ture. 

Rule 2. 

When application has been made in triple form, then 
let the disciple withdraw that application, and forget 
it has been made. 

Herein lies one of the initial tests. The disciple's at- 
titude of mind must be that he cares not whether he takes 
initiation or not. Selfish motive must not enter in. Only 
those applications which reach the Master through the 
energy engendered through pure altruistic motive, are 
transmitted by him to the recording angel of the Hier- 
archy; only those disciples who seek initiation because of 
the added power to help and bless that it confers, will find 
a response to their plea. Those careless of initiation re- 
ceive not the occult accolade, and those anxious, through 
selfishness or curiosity, to participate in the mysteries, en- 
ter not the door but remain knocking outside. Those who 
are keen to serve, those who are weighed down with a 
sense of world need, and the personal responsibility there- 
by awakened, and who have fulfilled the law, knock and 



194 RULES FOR APPLICANTS 

meet with response, and make application which meets 
with recognition. They are the ones who send forth a 
cry for added power to aid, which penetrates to the ear 
of Those Who silently wait. 



Eule 3 



Triple the call must be, and long it takes to sound it 
forth. Let the disciple sound the cry across the des- 
ert, over the sea, and through the fires which separate 
him from the veiled and hidden door. 



Under this symbology comes to the disciple the in- 
junction to make the desert of the physical plane life to 
blossom like the rose, so that from the garden of the low- 
er life may arise those sounds and scents, and a 
vibration strong enough to cross the intervening space be- 
tween it and the portal ; to still the restless waters of the 
emotional life, so that in their limpid, still expanse, that 
portal may be reflected, and the lower life mirror forth the 
spiritual life of the indwelling divinity; to pass through 
the fiery furnace those motives, words, and thoughts 
which are the mainspring of activity, and have their origin 
upon the mental plane. When these three aspects of the 
manifesting Ego, the God within, are brought under con- 
trol, co-ordinated, and utilised, then, even unconsciously 
to himself, will the voice of the disciple be heard, demand- 
ing the opening of the door. When the lower life upon the 
physical plane is fertilized, the emotional stabilised, and 
the menial transmuted, then naught can prevent the latch 
upon that door being lifted, and the disciple passing 
through. Only synchronous vibration to that which lies 
the other side of the door produces its opening, and when 
the key of the disciple's life is all nning itself to that of the 



RULES FOR APPLICANTS 195 

Hierarchical life, then, one by one, the doors will open, 
and nothing can keep them closed. 

Rule 4. 

Let the disciple tend the evolution of the fire ; nourish 
the lesser lives, and thus keep the wheel revolving. 

Here comes an injunction to the disciple to remember 
his responsibility to those many lesser lives which, in 
their sum total, compose his triple body of manifestation. 
Thus is evolution possible, and thus each life, in the dif- 
ferent kingdoms of nature, consciously or unconsciously, 
fulfils its function of rightly energising that which is to it 
as is the planet to the sun. Thus will the unfolding of the 
plan logoic proceed with greater accuracy. The kingdom 
of God is within, and the duty of that inner hidden Ruler 
is twofold, first, to the lives which form the bodies, physi- 
cal, astral, and mental, and then to the macrocosm, the 
world of which the microcosm is but an infinitesimal 
part. 

Rule 5. 

Let the applicant see to it that the solar angel dims 
the light of the lunar angels, remaining the sole lu- 
minary in the microscosmic sky. 

To fulfil this injunction all applicants need to do 
two things, first, to study their origin, to realise their own 
true psychology occultly understood, and to become scien- 
tifically aware of the real nature of the Ego, or the Higher 
Self, functioning in the causal body. Then they have to 
assert upon the physical plane, through the medium of 
the three lower bodies, their innate divinity, and to dem- 
onstrate in ever increasing degree, their essential value. 



196 BULES FOE APPLICANTS 

Secondly, to study the constitution of man, to understand 
the method of functioning in the lower nature, to realise 
the interdependence and interrelation of all living things, 
and thus bring the lesser lives, which compose those three 
bodies of manifestation, under control. Thus the solar 
Lord, the inner Keality, the Son of the Father, and the 
Thinker on his own plane becomes the intermediary be- 
tween that which is of the earth, earthy, and that which 
finds its home within the sun. Two verses in the Christian 
Bible hide something of this idea within themselves, and 
students in the Occident may find it helpful to meditate 
upon them : — "The kingdoms of this world are become the 
kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ." "O Lord, our 
God, other lords beside Thee have had dominion over us, 
but by Thee only will we make mention of Thy name. 7 ' The 
last verse is particularly interesting, as it demonstrates the 
suppression of the lower sound and creative force by that 
which is of higher origin. 

Rule- 6. 

The purificatory fires burn dim and low when the 
third is sacrificed to the fourth. Therefore let the 
disciple refrain from taking life, and let him nour- 
ish that which is lowest with the produce of the sec- 
ond. 

This rule might be summed up in the trite instruction 
to each disciple that he be strictly vegetarian. The lower 
nature becomes clogged and heavy, and the inner blaze can- 
not shine forth when meat is included in the diet. This is 
<t drastic rule for applicants, and may not be violated. 
Aspirants can choose to eal meat or not ;is they prefer, but 
<it ;i certain stage upon the path it is essential that all meat 



RULES FOR APPLICANTS 197 

eating of every kind be stopped, and the strictest atten- 
tion must be paid to diet. A disciple must confine himself 
to vegetables, grains, fruits and nuts. Only thus can he 
build the type of physical body which can stand the en- 
try of the real man who has stood in his subtler bodies be- 
fore the Initiator. Should he not do this, and should it be 
possible for him to take initiation without having thus 
prepared himself, the physical body would be shattered by 
the energy pouring through the newly stimulated centres, 
and dire danger to the brain, the spine, or the heart would 
eventuate. 

It must, of course, here be recognised that no hard or 
fast rules can ever be laid down, except the initial one that 
for all applicants for initiation meat, fish, and fermented 
liquors of all kinds, as well as the use of tobacco, are ab- 
solutely forbidden. For those who can stand it, eggs and 
cheese are sometimes better eliminated from the diet, but 
this is not in any way compulsory. It is advisable always 
that those who are in process of developing psychic facul- 
ties of any kind should not permit themselves to eat eggs 
and very little cheese. Milk and butter come under a dif- 
ferent category, and most initiates and applicants find it 
necessary to retain them in the diet. A few exceptional 
people can subsist and retain their full physical energies 
on the diet mentioned in the preceding paragraph, but 
there the ideal is embodied, and, as we all know, the ideal 
is seldom attainable in the present transitional period. 

In this connection two things should be emphasized: 
— First, the need that all appplicants have for com- 
mon sense; this factor is very often lacking, and students 
do well to remember that unbalanced fanatics are not 
desirable members of the Hierarchy. Equilibrium, a just 
sense of proportion, a due regard for environing condi- 
tions, and a sane common sense, are the marks of the true 



198 KULES FOE APPLICANTS 

occultist. When a real sense of humour exists likewise, 
many dangers will be avoided. Secondly, a recognition of 
time, and an ability to move slowly when effecting changes 
in the diet and in the habits of a lifetime. Everything in 
nature progresses slowly, and applicants must learn the oc- 
cult truth of the words : — "Make haste slowly." A pro- 
cess of gradual elimination is usually the path of wisdom, 
and this eliminating period should — under ideal conditions 
which so seldom exist — cover the stage which we call that 
of the aspirant, so that when a man becomes an applicant 
for initiation he will have done the necessary preparatory 
purification of the diet. 

Rule 7. 

Let the disciple turn his attention to the enunciating 
of those sounds which echo in the halls where walks the 
Master. Let him not sound the lesser notes which awaken 
vibration within the halls of Maya (Illusion). 

The disciple who seeks to enter within the portals of 
initiation, cannot do so until he has learnt the power of 
speech and the power of silence. This has a deeper and a 
wider significance than perhaps is apparent, for it holds, 
if rightly interpreted, the key to manifestation, the clue 
to the great cycles, and the revelation of the purpose un- 
derlying pralaya. Until a man comprehends the signifi- 
cance of the spoken word, and until he utilises the silence 
of the high places for the bringing about of desired effects 
on one plane or another, he cannot be admitted into those 
realms wherein every sound and every word spoken pro- 
duces powerful results in matter of some kind, being ener- 
gised by two predominant factors, (a) a powerful will, 
scientifically applied, (b) right motive, purified in the 
tires. 



EULES FOE APPLICANTS 199 

An adept is a creator in mental matter, an originator 
of impulses on the mental plane, thereby producing results 
in astral or physical manifestation. These results are 
powerful and effective, and hence the necessity for their 
originator to be pure in thought, accurate in word, and 
skilful in action. When these ideas are realised by ap- 
plicants, the immediate consequence will be important 
changes in the life of every day. These changes might, 
for the sake of their practical use, be enumerated as fol- 
lows: 

a. Motives will be closely searched, and a strict 
check will be kept upon originating impulses. 
Hence during the first year in which the applicant 
devotes himself to the work of preparation for 
initiation he will, three times a day, keep a writ- 
ten account of the investigations he pursues, 
which concern his motives, or the mainspring of 
action. 

b. Speech will be watched, and an endeavour will be 
made to eliminate all unkind, unnecessary and 
wasteful words. The effects of the spoken word 
will be studied, and be traced back to those origin- 
ating impulses which, in every case, initiate action 
upon the physical plane. 

c. Silence will be cultivated, and applicants will be 
careful to preserve strict silence concerning them- 
selves, their occult work or knowledge, the affairs 
of those associated with them, and the work of 
their occult group. Only in group circles or in 
connection with their superiors, will a wise latitude 
in speech be permitted. There is a time to speak. 
That time comes when the group can be served by 



200 KULES FOR APPLICANTS 

wise words, a careful intimation of conditions, 
good or bad, and a rare, but necessary word to 
some brother concerning the inner life, or to some 
superior or group of officials, in cases where a 
brother may be hindering a group through error 
of some kind, or might help the group if put to 
different work, 
d. The effect of the Sacred Word will be studied, and 
conditions for its use wisely arranged. The 
sounding of the Word, and its effect upon a par- 
ticular esoteric centre (not in any case whatso- 
ever a physical centre) will be watched, and the 
life thereby influenced and regulated. 
The whole question of the study of sound and of 
words, sacred or otherwise, has to be taken up by appli- 
cants for initiation. This is something which must be 
faced more strenuously by all eventuating occult groups. 

Rule 8. 

When the disciple nears the portal, the Greater Seven 
must awaken and bring forth response from the lesser 
seven upon the double circle. 

This rule is a very difficult one, and one which holds 
in it the elements of danger for the man who undertakes 
too early to tread the final path. Literally it can be inter- 
preted thus : The would-be initiate must develop some- 
what the vibration of the seven head centres, and thus 
sweep into increased vibratory activity the seven centres 
in the body upon the etheric plane; affecting also, through 
reciprocal vibration, the seven physical centres which are 
inevitably stimulated when the etheric centres come to- 
wards their maximum vibration. It is not necessary to 
enlarge upon this point beyond pointing out thai as the 



RULES FOR APPLICANTS 201 

seven centres within the head become responsive to the Ego 
the following seven centres, 

1. The head, considered as a unit, 

2. The heart, 

3. The throat, 

4. The solar plexus, 

5. The base of the spine, 

6. The spleen, 

7. The organs of generation, 

are also affected, but affected along the line of purification 
and control. This will produce results in the definitely 
physical organs through which man functions on the phys- 
ical plane. In illustration : — Man can then transfer con- 
sciously the creative fire and energy from the organs of 
generation to the throat, or, through the conscious control 
of the heart, produce suspended animation of the physical 
body. This is not achieved through what is called Hatha 
Yoga practices, or concentrating the attention upon the 
physical organs, but through the development of the con- 
trol by the inner God, Who works through the head centre 
and thus dominates all else. 

The applicant, therefore, will bend all his energies 
towards the development of the spiritual life, which de- 
velopment will be the outcome of right thinking, medita- 
tion, and service. Through deep study of all there is to 
be known concerning energy and its focal points, he will 
co-ordinate his life so that the life of the spirit may flow 
through it. This study can only be safely undertaken at 
present in group work and under guidance from a teacher ; 
the pupils will pledge themselves to permit no experimen- 
tation in their lives, and no careless trifling with the fires 
of the body. They will simply apply themselves to a 
theoretical comprehension and a life of service. 



202 RULES FOR APPLICANTS 

The centres will then develop normally, whilst the ap- 
plicant bends his attention to loving his brother perfectly 
in truth and in deed, to serving wholeheartedly, to thinking 
intelligently, and to keeping a close watch upon himself. 
He will also record all that seems to him in his inner life 
to be concerned with the evolution of the centres. This 
record can be surveyed by the teacher, comment made, de- 
duction sought, and the quota of information thus gained 
filed for group reference. In this way much knowledge can 
be stored up for use. 

The applicant who misuses knowledge, who indulges 
in such practices as 'breathing for development', or con- 
centrating upon tne centres, will inevitably fail in his en- 
deavour to reach the portal, and will pay the price in his 
body by the appearance of insanity, of neurasthenic con- 
ditions, and various physical ills. 

Rule 9. 

Let the disciple merge himself within the circle of his 
other selves. Let but one colour blend them and their 
unity appear. Only when the group is known and 
sensed can energy be wisely emanated. 

One thing all disciples and applicants for initiation 
have to do is to find that particular group of servers to 
which they belong on the inner plane, to recognise them 
upon the physical plane, and to unite with them in service 
for the race. This recognition will be based upon : — 

a. Unity of aim. 

b. Oneness of vibration. 

c [dentity in group affiliation. 
(1. Karmic links of long standing. 

c. Ability to work in harmonious relation. 



RULES FOR APPLICANTS 203 

Superficially, this may appear one of the easiest of the 
rules, but in practice it is not so. Mistakes are easily 
made, and the problem of working harmoniously in group 
alignment is not so simple as it may appear. Egoic vibra- 
tion and relationship may exist, yet the outer personalities 
may not harmonise. It is the work, then, of the applicant 
to strengthen the grip of his Ego upon his personality, so 
that the esoteric group relation may become possible upon 
the physical plane. He will do this by the disciplining of 
his own personality, and not by the correction of his 
brothers. 

Rule 10. 

The Army of the Voice, the devas in their serried 
ranks, work ceaselessly. Let the disciple apply himself 
to the consideration of their methods; let him learn 
the rules whereby that Army works within the veils 
of Maya. 

This rule refers to the work of occult investigation, 
which must be pursued at some time or another by all 
who seek initiation. Though it is not safe for the uniniti- 
ated to tamper with the parallel evolution of the devas, 
yet it is necessary and safe to investigate the procedure 
pursued by the builders, the methods followed by them, in 
reproducing from the archetype, via the etheric. that which 
we call physical manifestation ; their groups must be some- 
what theoretically cognised, and the sounds whereby they 
are swept into activity considered. This involves, there- 
fore, the organised study, by all applicants, of : — 

1. The purpose of sound. 

2. The esoteric meaning of words, of grammar, and 
of syntax. 



204 RULES FOR APPLICANTS 

3. The laws of vibration and of electricity, 
and many other subsidiary studies which concern them- 
selves with the manifestation of divinity and conscious- 
ness through the medium of deva substance and the ac- 
tivity of the controlling devas. The laws of the macrocosm 
will be investigated, and the correspondence between the 
activities of the microcosm, and the active manifestation 
of the macrocosm will be recognised. 

Rule 11. 

Let the disciple transfer the fire from the lower tri- 
angle to the higher, and preserve that which is created 
through the fire of the midway point. 

This means, literally, the control by the initiate of the 
sex impulse, as usually understood, and the transference 
of the fire which now normally vitalises the generative or- 
gans to the throat centre, thus leading to creation upon 
the mental plane through the agency of mind. That which 
is to be created must then be nourished and sustained by 
the love energy of nature issuing from the heart centre. 

The lower triangle referred to is: — 

1. The solar plexus. 

2. The base of the spine. 

3. The generative organs. 

Whilst the higher one is, as pointed out : — 

1. The head. 

2. The throat. 

3. The heart. 

This might be interpreted by the superficial reader as an 
injunction to the celibate lite, and the pledging of the ap- 
plicanl to abstain from all physical manifestation of the 
sex impulse. This is not so. Many initiates have attained 
their objective when duly and wisely participating in the 



EULES FOE APPLICANTS 205 

marriage relation. An initiate cultivates a peculiar atti- 
tude of mind, wherein there is a recognition that all forms 
of manifestation are divine, and that the physical plane is 
as much a form of divine expression as any of the higher 
planes. He realises that the lowest manifestation of 
divinity must be under the conscious control of that in- 
dwelling divinity, and that all acts of every kind should be 
regulated by the endeavour to fulfil every duty and obliga- 
tion, to control every action and deed, and to utilise the 
physical vehicle so that the group may be thereby benefited 
and aided in its spiritual progress, and the law perfectly 
fulfilled. 

That it may be advisable, at certain stages, for a man 
to perfect control along any particular line through a tem- 
porary abstention is not to be denied, but that is a means 
to an end, and will be succeeded by stages when — the con- 
trol having been gained — the man demonstrates perfectly 
through the medium of the physical body, the attributes of 
divinity, and every centre will be normally and wisely 
used, and thus race purposes furthered. 

Initiates and Masters, in many cases marry, and 
normally perform their duties as husbands, wives, and 
householders, but all is controlled and regulated by pur- 
pose and intention, and none is carried away by passion or 
desire. In the perfect man upon the physical plane, all the 
centres are under complete control, and their energy is 
legitimately used; the spiritual will of the divine inner 
God is the main factor, and there will be a unity of effort 
shown on all the planes through all the centres for the 
greatest good of the greatest number. 

This point has been touched upon because so many 
students go astray upon these matters, and cultivate 
either an attitude of mind which results in the complete 
atrophying of the entire normal physical nature, or in- 



206 KULES FOR APPLICANTS 

dulge in an orgy of license nnder the specious plea of 
"stimulating the centres,'' and thus furthering astral de- 
velopment. The true initiate should be known by his wise 
and sanctified normality, by his steady conformity to that 
which is best for the group as emphasised by the group 
laws of the land, by his control and his refraining from ex- 
cess of any kind, and by the example he sets to his environ- 
ing associates of spiritual living and moral rectitude, 
coupled with the discipline of his life. 

Rule 12. 

Let the disciple learn the use of the hand in service; 
let him seek the mark of the messenger in his feet, and 
let him learn to see with the eye that looks out from 
between the two. 

This rule looks easy of interpretation upon the first 
reading, and seems to enjoin upon the applicant the use of 
the hands in service, of the feet upon hierarchial errands, 
and the development of clairvoyance. But the real mean- 
ing is much more esoteric. Occultly understood, the 'use 
of the hands' is the utilisation of the chakras (or centres) 
in the palms of the hands in: — 

a. Healing bodily ills. 

1). Blessing, and thus curing emotional ills. 

c. Raised in prayer, or the use of the centres of the 
hands during meditation in the manipulation of 
mental matter and currents. 
These three points will bear careful consideration, and 
much may be learnt by occidental students from the study 
of the life of Christ, and a consideration of His methods 
in using His hands. More cannot be said here, as the sub- 
ject is boo vast to be enlarged upon in this brief commen- 
tary. 



RULES FOR APPLICANTS 207 

The "mark of the messenger" in the feet, is a refer- 
ence to that well known symbol of the wings on the heels of 
Mercury. Much upon this subject will be revealed to stu- 
dents in occult schools who will gather together all that 
can be found concerning the Messenger of the Gods, and 
who also will study with care information which astro- 
logical students have gleaned anent the planet Mercury, 
and which occult students have gathered concerning the 
inner round. 

On the surface, the expression "the eye which looks 
out from between the two" seems to signify the third eye, 
which clairvoyants utilise, but the meaning is very much 
deeper than that, and lies hidden in the following facts : — 

a. That the inner vision is that which all self con- 
scious beings, from a Logos to a man, are in 
process of developing. 

b. That the Ego, or Higher Self, is literally to the 
Monad what the third eye is to man, and there- 
fore is described as looking out from between the 
Monad or spiritual self on the one hand, and the 
personal self on the other. 

In the fullest sense, therefore, this rule incites the ap- 
plicant to develop self consciousness, and thus learn to 
function in the causal body on the higher levels of the men- 
tal plane, controlling from thence all the lower vehicles 
and seeing clearly all that can be seen in the three worlds, 
in the past and in the future. 

Rule 13. 

Four things the disciple must learn and comprehend 
before he can be shewn that inmost mystery : first, the 
laws of that which radiates ; the five meanings of mag- 
netisation make the second; the third is transmuta- 



208 KULES FOE APPLICANTS 

tion, or the secret lost of alchemy ; and lastly the first 
letter of the Word which has been imparted, or the 
hidden name egoic. 

This rule cannot be enlarged upon. Tt concerns 
mysteries and subjects too immense to be fully handled 
here. It is included in these rules so that it may form a 
subject for meditation, for study, and for group discussion. 

The final rule is very brief and consists of five words : 

Rule 14. 

Listen, touch, see, apply, know. 

These words concern what the Christian might aptly 
call the consecration of the three major senses, and their 
utilisation in the evolution of the inner spiritual life, ap- 
plication then made of that which is learnt and ascer- 
tained, followed by the fruition of realised knoAvledge. 



AN ESOTEBIC CATECHISM. 



The following are some words from Archive XIII of 
the Masters' Kecords, that carry with them a message for 
the straggler on the way. They are somewhat on the line 
of an old catechism, and used to be recited by the par- 
ticipants in the lesser mysteries before they passed on in- 
to the greater. 



What seest thou. O Pilgrim? Life* up thine eyes and 
tell what thou beholdest. 

I see a ladder, mounting within the vault of blue, its feet 
lost sight of in the mists and fogs that circle round our 
planet. 

Where standest thou, O Pilgrim? On what are 
placed thy feet? 

I stand upon a portion of the ladder, the fourth division 
well nigh mounted ; its latter part stretches before me into 
the darkness of a stormy night. Beyond that sphere of 
utter gloom I see the ladder rise again, radiant and glow- 
ing in its fifth division. 

What marks those portions which you thus describe 
as separated from another part? Do not all form but 
one completed ladder of clearly marked proportions? 



209 



210 ESOTERIC CATECHISM 

Always a gap appeareth to the eye, which (when ap- 
proached more closely) resolveth then itself into a Cross, 
by which one mounteth to the next division. 

What canseth then the Cross? How monnt yon by its 
aid? 

The Cross is formed by aspirations, instilled by Godlike 
urge, which cut athwart the lower world desires, implanted 
by the life developed from below. 

Explain more clearly what you mean, and how that 
Cross becomes the Way. 

The arms that form the Cross become the great dividing 
line, placed twixt the lower and the higher. Upon those 
arms the hands are nailed, — the hands that grasp and 
hold, ministering to the lower needs, trained thus through 
many aeons. Lo, when the hands are helpless held, and 
cannot grasp and hold, the inner life slips from its sheath, 
mounting the limb upright. It passeth from the lower 
fourth, and the Cross doth bridge the gap. 

Pass they with ease that mount that limb, and leave 
the fourth behind? 

They pass through tears, through clouds and mists; they 
suffer and they die. They bid adieu to all earth's friends; 
they mount the Way alone; they bridge the gap with lov- 
ing deeds done in the pain of living; they lift one hand 
aloft to II ini Who standeth just above; they lean one down- 
ward lo the man who standeth next below. The hands, 
freed from the transverse arms, arc freed but to be held, — 
held by the One Who standeth by, held by the one they 



ESOTEKIC CATECHISM 211 

lift. Only the empty nail-marked hands can keep the chain 
complete. 

Where ends the ladder's length? What point of 
gloom is pierced by it and where projects its end? 

It cuts the crystallising sphere with all its myriad forms ; 
it pierces through the watery plane, washed by the swirling 
tides; it passes through the nethermost hell, down into 
densest maya, and ends within the latent fire, the molten 
lake of fiercest burning, touching the denizens of fire, the 
Agnichaitans of the scarlet heat. 

Where mounts the ladder's length? Where is its con- 
summation? 

It mounteth through the radiant spheres, through all their 
six divisions. It riseth to the mighty Seat within the final 
fifth, and passeth from that mighty Seat to yet another 
greater. 

Who sits upon that mighty Seat within the final fifth? 

He with the Name we mention not, save in utter adoration ; 
the Youth of Endless Summers, the Light of Life itself, 
the Wondrous One, the Ancient One, Lord of Venusian 
Love, the great Kumara with the Flaming Sword, the 
Peace of all the Earth. 

Sits He alone, this Wondrous One, upon His sapphire 
throne? 

He sits alone, yet close upon the rainbow steps there stand 
three other Lords, garnering the product of Their work 
and sacrificing all Their gain to aid the Lord of Love. 



212 ESOTERIC CATECHISM 

Are They assisted in Their work? Do other Ones of 
greater powers than ours stand too upon the ladder? 

These might}' Four, Action and Love, in wise co-operation 
work with Their Brothers of a lesser grade, the three Great 
Lords we know. 



Who aid these mighty Lords? Who carry on Their 
work, linking the lower with the higher? 

The Brothers of Logoic Love in all Their many grades. 
They stay within the final fifth till it absorbeth all the 
fourth. 

Where mounts the ladder then? 

To the greatest Lord of all, before Whom e'en that Ancient 
One bends in obeisance low ; before Whose throne of efful- 
gent light Angels of highest rank, Masters and Lords of 
uttermost compassion, prostrate Themselves and humbly 
bend, waiting the Word to rise. 

When sounds that Word and what transpires when it 
echoes through the spheres? 

That Word sounds not till all is done, until the Lord of 
endless love deemeth the work correct. He uttereth then 
a lesser Word that vibrateth through the scheme. The 
greater Lord of cosmic Love, hearing the circling sound, 
addeth completion to the chord, and breatheth forth the 
whole. 



ESOTEKIC CATECHISM 213 

What will be seen, O Pilgrim on the Way, when 
sounds that final chord? 

The music of the endless spheres, the merging of the seven ; 
the end of tears, of sin, of strife, the shattering of forms ; 
the finish of the ladder, the blending in the All, completion 
of the circling spheres and their entry into peace. 

What part, O Pilgrim on the Way, play you within 
this scheme? How will you enter into peace? How 
stand before your Lord? 

I play my part with stern resolve, with earnest aspiration ; 
I look above, I help below ; I dream not, nor I rest ; I toil ; I 
serve; I reap; I pray; I am the Cross; I am the Way; I 
tread upon the work I do ; I mount upon my slain self ; I 
kill desire, and I strive, forgetting all reward. I forego 
peace ; I forfeit rest, and in the stress of pain I lose myself 
and find Myself and enter into peace. 



FINIS 



GLOSSARY 

Adept. A Master, or human being who, having traversed 
the path of evolution and entered upon the final 
stage of that path, the Path of Initiation, has taken 
five of the Initiations, and has therefore passed into 
the Fifth, or Spiritual kingdom, having but two more 
Initiations to take. 

Adi. The First; the primeval; the atomic plane of the 
solar system ; the highest of the seven planes. 

Agni. The Lord of Fire in the Vedas. The oldest and 
most revered of the Gods in India. One of the three 
great deities Agni, Vayu and Surya, and also all the 
three, as he is the triple aspect of fire; fire is the es- 
sence of the solar system. The Bible says : "Our God 
is a consuming fire." It is also the symbol of the 
mental plane of which Agni is paramountly lord. 

Agnichaitans. A group of fire devas. 

Atlantis. The continent that was submerged in the At- 
lantic and Pacific oceans, according to the occult 
teaching and Plato. Atlantis was the home of the 
Fourth Root Race, whom we now call the Atlanteans. 

Antakarana. ( or Antaskarana ) . The path, or bridge, be- 
tween higher and lower mind, serving as a medium 
of communication between the two. It is built by the 
aspirant himself in mental matter. 

Ashram. The centre to which the Master gathers the dis- 
ciples and aspirants for personal instruction. 

Atma. The Universal Spirit; the divine Monad; the 
seventh Principle; so-called in the septenary consti- 
tution of man. (See diagram in Introduction.) 



215 



216 GLOSSARY 

Atomic sub plane. The matter of the solar system is 
divided by the occultists into seven planes or states, 
the highest of which is the atomic plane. Similarly, 
each of the seven planes is divided into seven sub- 
planes, of which the highest is called the atomic sub- 
plane. There are therefore fortynine subplanes, 
and seven of these are atomic. 

Aura. A subtle invisible essence or fluid which emanates 
from human and animal bodies, and even from things. 
It is a psychic effluvium, partaking of both mind 
and body. It is electro-vital, and also electro- 
mental. 

Auric egg. An appellation that has been given to the 
causal body owing to its form. 

Boddhisattva. Literally, he whose consciousness has be- 
come intelligence, or buddhi. Those who need but 
one more incarnation to become perfect buddhas. 
As used in these letters the Boddhisattva is the name 
of the office which is at present occupied by the Lord 
Maitreya, Who is known in the Occident as the Christ. 
This office might be translated as that of World 
Teacher. The Boddhisattva is the Head of all the 
religions of the world, and the Master of the Masters 
and of the angels. 

Buddha (The). The name given to Gautama. Born in 
India about B.C. 621 he become a full buddha in B.C. 
592. The Buddha is one who is the "Enlightened", 
and has attained the highest degree of knowledge 
possible for man in this solar system. 

Buddhi. The Universal Soul or Mind. It is the spiritual 
soul in man (the Sixth Principle) and therefore the 
vehicle of Atma, the Spirit, which is the Seventh 
Principle. 



GLOSSARY 217 

Causal Body. This body is, from the standpoint of the 
physical plane, no body, either subjective or objec- 
tive. It is, nevertheless, the centre of the egoic con- 
sciousness, and is formed of the conjunction of 
buddhi and manas. It is relatively permanent and 
lasts throughout the long cycle of incarnations, and 
is only dissipated after the fourth initiation, when 
the need for further rebirth on the part of a human 
being no longer exists. 

Chohan. Lord, Master, a Chief. In this book it refers 
to those Ade/pts who have gone on and taken the 
sixth initiation. 

Deva, (or Angel). A god. In Sanskrit a resplendent 
deity. A Deva is a celestial being, whether good, 
bad, or indifferent. Devas are divided into many 
groups, and are called not only angels and arch- 
angels, but lesser and greater builders. 

Egoic Groups. On the third subplane of the fifth plane, 
the mental, are found the causal bodies of the in- 
dividual men and women. These bodies, which are 
the expression of the Ego, or of the individualised 
self -consciousness, are gathered together into groups 
according to the ray or quality of the particular Ego 
involved. 

Elementals. The Spirits of the Elements; the creatures 
involved in the four kingdoms, or elements, Earth, 
Air, Fire, and Water. Except a few of the higher 
kinds and their rulers they are forces of nature more 
than ethereal men and women. 

Etheric body. (Etheric double.) The physical body of 
a human being is, according to occult teaching, 
formed of two parts, the dense physical body, and 
the etheric body. The dense physical body is formed 



218 GLOSSAKY 

of matter of the lowest three subplanes of the physi- 
cal plane. The etheric body is formed of the four 
highest or etheric subplanes of the physical plane. 
Fifth Principle. The principle of mind; that faculty in 
man which is the intelligent thinking principle, and 
which differentiates man from the animals. 

Fohat. Cosmic electricity; primordial light; the ever- 
present electrical energy; the universal propelling 
vital force; the ceaseless destructive and formative 
power; the synthesis of the many forms of electrical 
phenomena. 

Guru. Spiritual Teacher. A Master in metaphysical 
and ethical doctrines. 

Hierarchy. That group of spiritual beings on the inner 
planes of the solar system who are the intelligent 
forces of nature, and who control the evolutionary 
processes. They are themselves divided into twelve 
Hierarchies. Within our planetary scheme, the 
earth scheme, there is a reflection of this Hierarchy 
which is called by the occultist the Occult Hierarchy. 
This Hierarchy is formed of chohans, adepts, and 
initiates working through their disciples, and, by this 
means, in the world. ( See diagram in Chapter VIII. ) 

Initiation. From the Latin root meaning the first prin- 
ciples of any science. One who is penetrating into 
the mysteries of the science of the Self and of the one 
self in all selves. The Path of Initiation is the final 
stage of the path of evolution trodden by man, and 
is divided into ^ve stages, called the Five Initiations. 

Kali yuga. "Yuga" is an age or cycle. According to the 
Indian philosophy our evolution is divided into four 
yugas or cycles. The Kali-yuga is the present age. 
It means the "Black Age", a period of 432,000 years. 



GLOSSARY 219 

Karma. Physical action. Metaphysically, the law of re- 
tribution ; the law of cause and effect, or ethical caus- 
ation. There is the karma of merit and the karma 
of demerit. It is the power that controls all things, 
the resultant of moral action, or the moral effect of 
an act committed for the attainment of something 
which gratifies a personal desire. 

Kumara. The highest seven selfconscious beings in the 
solar system. These seven Kumaras manifest 
through the medium of a planetary scheme in the 
same way as a human being manifests through the 
medium of a physical body. They are called by the 
Hindu "the mind-born sons of Brahma" amongst 
other names. They are the sum total of intelligence 
and of wisdom. Within the planetary scheme the re- 
flection of the systemic order is also seen. At the 
head of our world evolution stands the first Kumara, 
aided by six other Kumaras, three exoteric and three 
esoteric, who are the focal points for the distribution 
of the force of the systemic Kumaras. 

Kundalini. The power of Life: one of the forces of na- 
ture. It is a power known only to those who practise 
concentration in yoga, and is centred within the 
spine. 

Lemuria. A modern term first used by some naturalists 
and now adopted by Theosophists to indicate a con- 
tinent that, according to the Secret Doctrine of the 
East, preceded Atlantis. It was the home of the 
third root race. 

Logos. The deity manifested through every nation and 
people. The outward expression, or the effect of the 
cause which is ever concealed. Thus, speech is the 



220 GLOSSARY 

Logos of thought, hence it is aptly translated by the 
"verbum" and the "word" in its metaphysical sense. 
(See John 1.1-3.) 

Lord of Civilisation. (See Mahachohan). 

Lords of the Flame. One of the great Hierarchies of 
spiritual beings who guide the solar system. They 
took control of the evolution of humanity upon this 
planet about 18 million years ago, during the middle 
of the Lemurian, or third root race. 

Macrocosm. The great universe, literally; or God mani- 
festing through His body, the solar system. 

Mahachohan. The Head of the third great department of 
the Hierarchy. This great being is the Lord of Civ- 
ilisation, and the flowering forth of the principle of 
intelligence. He is the embodiment on the planet of 
the third, or intelligence aspect of deity in its fifth 
activity. 

Mahamanvantra. The great interludes of time between 
two solar systems. This term is frequently applied 
to the greater solar cycles. It implies a period of uni- 
versal activity. 

Manas, or Manasic Principle. Literally, the Mind, the 
mental faculty; that which distinguishes man from 
the mere animal. It is the individualising principle; 
that which enables man to know that he exists, feels, 
and knows. It is divided in some schools into two 
parts, higher or abstract mind, and lower or con- 
crete mind. 

Mantrams. Verses from the Vedas. In the exoteric 
sense a mantram, (or that psychic faculty or power 
that conveys perception or thought) is the older por- 
tion of the Vedas, the second part of which is com- 
posed of the Brahmanas. In esoteric phraseology 
mantram is the word made flesh, or rendered objec- 



GLOSSARY 221 

tive through divine magic. A form of words or 
syllables rhythmically arranged, so that when sound- 
ed certain vibrations are generated. 

Manu. The representative name of the great Being Who 
is the Ruler, primal progenitor and chief of the hu- 
man race. It comes from the Sanskrit root "man" — 
to think. 

Manvantara. A period of activity as opposed to a period 
of rest, without reference to any specific length of 
cycle. Frequently used to express a period of 
planetary activity and its seven races. 

Mayavi Bupa. Sanskrit, "Illusive Form." It is the body 
of manifestation created by the adept by an act of 
will for use in the three worlds. It has no material 
connection with the physical body. It is spiritual 
and etherial and passes everywhere without let or 
hindrance. It is built by the power of the lower 
mind, of the highest type of astral matter. 

Microcosm. The little universe, or man manifesting 
through his body, the physical body. 

Monad. The One. The three-fold spirit on its own plane. 
In occultism it often means the unified triad — Atma, 
Buddhi, Manas, Spiritual Will, Intuition and Higher 
mind, — or the immortal part of man which rein- 
carnates in the lower kingdoms and gradually 
progresses through them to man and thence to the 
final goal. 

Nirmanakaya. Those perfected beings who renounce 
Mrvana (the highest state of spiritual bliss) and 
choose a life of self-sacrifice, becoming members of 
that invisible host which ever protects humanity 
within karmic limits. 

Permanent atom. Those five atoms, with the mental unit, 
one on each of the five planes of human evolution 



222 GLOSSARY 

(the mental unit being also on the mental plane) 
which the monad appropriates for purposes of mani- 
festation. They form a stable centre and are rel- 
atively permanent. Around them the various 
sheaths or bodies are built. They are literally small 
force centres. 

Planetary Logos. This term is generally applied to the 
seven highest spirits corresponding to the seven arch- 
angels of the Christian. They have all passed through 
the human stage and are now manifesting through a 
planet and its evolutions, in the same way that man 
manifests through his physical body. The highest 
planetary spirit working through any particular 
globe is, in reality, the personal God of the planet. 

Prakriti. Derives its name from its function as the mate- 
rial cause of the first evolution of the universe. It 
may be said to be composed of two roots, "pra" to 
manifest, and "krita" to make ; meaning, that which 
caused the universe to manifest itself. 

Prana. The Life Principle, the breath of Life. The oc- 
cultist believes the following statement: "Life we 
look upon as the one form of existence, manifesting 
in what is called matter, or what, incorrectly sepa- 
rating them, we name Spirit, Soul, and Matter in 
man. Matter is the vehicle for the manifestation of 
God on this plane of existence; soul is the vehicle 
for the manifestation of spirit, and these three as a 
trinity are synthesised by Life, which pervades them 
all." 

Purusha. The spiritual self. The embodied self. The 
word literally means "The dweller in the city" — that 
is, in the body. It is derived from the Sanskrit 
"pura" which means city or body, and "usha" a 
derivative of the verb "vas", to dwell. 



GLOSSAEY 22^ 

Quarternary. The four-fold lower self, or man, in the three 
worlds. There are various divisions of this, but per- 
haps for our purpose the best is to enumerate the 
four as follows : 

1. Lower mind. 

2. Emotional or karmic body. 

3. Prana, or the Life Principle. 

4. The etheric body, or the highest division of the 
two-fold physical body. 

Raja Lord. The word "Eaja" simply means King or 
Prince; the word has been applied to those great 
angels or entities who ensoul the seven planes. These 
are great devas who are the sum total and the con- 
trolling intelligence of a plane. 

Raja Yoga. The true system of developing psychic and 
spiritual powers and union with one's higher self or 
the Ego. It involves the exercise, regulation, and 
concentration of thought. 

Ray. One of the seven streams of force of the Logos ; the 
seven great lights. Each of them is the embodiment 
of a great cosmic entity. The seven Eays can be 
divided into the three Eays of Aspect and the four 
Eays of Attribute, as follows : 

Rays of Aspect 

1. The Eay of Will, or Power. 

2. The Eay of Love-Wisdom. 

3. The Eay of Activity or Adaptibility. 

Rays of Attribute 

4. The Eay of Harmony, Beauty, Art, or Unity. 

5. The Eay of concrete knowledge or Science. 

6. The Eay of abstract idealism or devotion. 

7. The Eay of Ceremonial Magic, or Law. 



224 GLOSSARY 

The above names are simply some chosen from 
among many, and embody the different aspects of 
force by means of which the Logos manifests. 

Ring-pass-not. This is at the circumference of the mani- 
fested solar system, and is the periphery of the in- 
fluence of the sun, both esoterically and exoterically 
understood. The limit of the field of activity of the 
central life force. 

Root Race. One of the seven races of man which evolve up- 
on a planet during the great cycle of planetary exist- 
ence. This cycle is called a world period. The 
Aryan root race, to which the Hindu, European, and 
modern American races belong, is the fifth, the 
Chinese and Japanese belonging to the fourth race. 

Sensa, or Senzar. The name for the secret sacerdotal 
language, or the "mystery speech" of the initiated 
adepts all over the world. It is a universal language, 
and largely a hieroglyphic cypher. 

Shamballa. The City of the Gods, which is in the West 
to some nations, in the East to others, in the North 
or South to yet others. It is the sacred island in the 
Gobi Desert. It is the home of mysticism and the 
Secret Doctrine. 

Triad. The Spiritual Man ; the expression of the monad. 
It is the germinal spirit containing the potentialities 
of divinity. These potentialities will be unfolded 
during the course of evolution. This Triad forms the 
individualised or separated self, or Ego. 

Viveka. The Sanskrit "discrimination". The very first 
step in the path of occultism is the discrimina- 
tion between the real and the unreal, between sub- 
stance and phenomenon, between the Self and the 
Not-self, between spirit and matter. 



GLOSSARY 225 

Wesak. A festival which takes place in the Himalayas 
at the full moon of May. It is said that at this 
festival, at which all the members of the Hierarchy 
are present, the Buddha, for a brief period, renews 
his touch and association with the work of our 
planet. 

Yoga. 1. One of the six schools of India, said to be 
founded by Pantanjali, but really of much earlier 
origin. 2. The practice of Meditation as a means 
of leading to spiritual liberation. 



Note: This glossary does not undertake fully to explain 
all the above terms. It is simply an attempt to 
render into English certain words used in these Let- 
ters, so that the reader may understand their con- 
notation. The majority of the definitions have been 
culled from the Theosophical Glossary, the Secret 
Doctrine, and the Voice of the Silence. 



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